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Nano-Enhanced Biodegradable Polymers for Sustainable Food Packaging

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 September 2025 | Viewed by 1148

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Food Science and Technology, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Patras, 30100 Agrinio, Greece
Interests: chemical technology; nanostructures in food technology; polymers and biopolymers composites and nanocomposites; biopolymers hydrogels; bioactive nanostructures; nanomaterials; microemulsions; nanoemulsions; active packaging; control release; food processing and preservation
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Today, nanotechnology and sustainability are concepts globally affecting research and technological advancement. In the field of food packaging, research on nanotechnology has led to the use of nanomaterials and nanoparticles being proposed, such as metal oxides, nanoclays, nano-zeolites, and carbon-based nanomaterials, as both polymer reinforcements and antioxidant/antibacterial agents. Further, increasing interest in sustainability has been the precursor to novel strategies in food packaging, including the following: replacing (i) synthetic chemical additives with natural antioxidant/antibacterial agents, such as natural extracts and essential oils derived by food byproducts, and (ii) of polymers derived from fossil fuels with biobased and biodegradable polymers, such as poly-lactide acid, chitosan, gelatin, starch, and cellulose. This Special Issue aims to showcase recent innovations in nano-enhanced biodegradable polymers for sustainable food packaging through high-quality research papers.

Dr. Aris Giannakas
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • food packaging
  • biodegradable polymers
  • bio-based polymers
  • nanotechnology

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

25 pages, 4878 KiB  
Article
Eugenol@Montmorillonite vs. Citral@Montmorillonite Nanohybrids for Gelatin-Based Extruded, Edible, High Oxygen Barrier, Active Packaging Films
by Achilleas Kechagias, Areti A. Leontiou, Yelyzaveta K. Oliinychenko, Alexandros Ch. Stratakos, Konstatninos Zaharioudakis, Charalampos Proestos, Emmanuel P. Giannelis, Nikolaos Chalmpes, Constantinos E. Salmas and Aris E. Giannakas
Polymers 2025, 17(11), 1518; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17111518 - 29 May 2025
Viewed by 1029
Abstract
In the context of the circular economy, the valorization of bio-derived waste has become a priority across various production sectors, including food processing and packaging. Gelatin (Gel), a protein which can be recovered from meat industry byproducts, offers a sustainable solution in this [...] Read more.
In the context of the circular economy, the valorization of bio-derived waste has become a priority across various production sectors, including food processing and packaging. Gelatin (Gel), a protein which can be recovered from meat industry byproducts, offers a sustainable solution in this regard. In this study, pork-derived gelatin was used to develop novel edible active packaging films, designed for meat products. Glycerol (Gl) was used as a plasticizer. Two types of montmorillonite-based nanohybrids were employed as both reinforcing agents and carriers of antioxidant/antibacterial compounds: eugenol-functionalized montmorillonite (EG@Mt) and citral-functionalized montmorillonite (CT@Mt). The active films were formulated as Gel/Gl/xEG@Mt and Gel/Gl/xCT@Mt, where x = 5, 10, or 15 wt.%. Controlled-release kinetics showed that EG@Mt released up to 95% of its adsorbed eugenol, whereas CT@Mt released up to 55% of its adsorbed citral. The films were evaluated using the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay and tested for antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes. Results demonstrated that the Gel/Gl/xEG@Mt films exhibited superior antioxidant and antibacterial performance compared to the Gel/Gl/xCT@Mt films. All formulations were impermeable to oxygen. Although the incorporation of EG and CT slightly reduced cell viability, values remained above 80%, indicating non-toxicity. In conclusion, the film containing 15 wt.% EG@Mt achieved an oxygen transmission rate of zero, an effective concentration (EC60) of 9.9 mg/L to reach 60% antioxidant activity, and reduced E. coli and L. monocytogenes populations by at least 5.8 log CFU/mL (p < 0.05), bringing them below the detection limit. Moreover, it successfully extended the shelf life of fresh minced pork by two days. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nano-Enhanced Biodegradable Polymers for Sustainable Food Packaging)
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