Search Results (1,892)

As the world moves toward a circular bioeconomy, starch nanoparticles (SNPs) have emerged as key components for sustainable development. Traditional production methods have historically relied on harsh acid treatments; however, their substantial environmental footprint has catalyzed a much-needed shift toward “green” chemistry. This review explores the rise of eco-friendly synthesis strategies—including high-power ultrasound, mechanical milling, nanoprecipitation, and enzymatic hydrolysis—and explains how these “clean” methods allow us to precisely define the nanoparticles’ properties. Furthermore, the functional applications of SNPs are analyzed, focusing on their role as reinforcing agents in biodegradable packaging, natural stabilizers in food emulsions, and encapsulation matrices for targeted nutrient delivery. By connecting recent breakthroughs, this work identifies technological synergy, the integration of physical and biological methods, as the most promising route to overcome current yield and scalability limitations. Finally, a future perspective is proposed, focusing on what is needed to move these innovations from the lab to industrial applications, ensuring they are safe, effective, and truly sustainable for the global food sector. Full article

Cutin, a natural polyester, has attracted attention as a precursor for bio-based materials mimicking plant cuticles, particularly in food packaging. Most studies focus on polycondensation of hydrolyzed cutin fractions or combining cutin hydrolysates with other components; however, cutin precipitation, conditions affecting it, and cutin isolate film properties, without addition of other filmogenic material, remain insufficiently understood. Owing to the pH-dependent solubility of cutin, which progressively decreases as pH is lowered from strongly alkaline to acidic conditions, this study investigates the influence of pH on cutin dispersion formation and characteristics, and evaluates the impact of these dispersion properties on the formation and performance of self-assembled cutin isolate films, with a view to developing films with improved water-barrier and moisture-resistance properties. The influence of three plasticizers, glycerol, propylene glycol, and polyethylene glycol 400, at two concentrations was also evaluated. Results demonstrated that pH is the primary factor influencing cutin isolate dispersion characteristics and film performance, with decreasing pH promoting cutin precipitation and particle aggregation, thereby inducing changes in film structure. The strongest effects were observed for swelling, solubility, and tensile strength, followed by water vapor permeability, elongation at break, and thickness. Plasticizer type mainly affected moisture content and significantly influenced permeability and thickness, while concentration of plasticizer primarily impacted permeability. Interactions between pH and plasticizer significantly influenced most properties. Films prepared from cutin dispersions at pH 6.5 and pH 5 with polyethylene glycol (10%) showed the best balance of mechanical and barrier properties. Additionally, films prepared from the cutin solutions at pH 12 with glycerol (20%) exhibited good mechanical performance and high solubility, suitable for specific applications. Full article

Traditional air conditioning consumes substantial electricity, exacerbates the urban heat island effect, and creates a maladaptive feedback loop, necessitating a shift toward passive-first net-zero pathways. This study takes a typical six-story residential building in Nanjing’s hot summer and cold winter climate zone as a case study. Using EnergyPlus hourly simulations, three progressive passive strategy packages are designed to quantify the impact of building envelope heat exchange on cooling loads, grid stress, and heat resilience. Package A includes external shading and natural ventilation. Package B adds reflective coating and a green roof. Package C further adds night ventilation precooling and high-performance windows. The results show that Package C achieves a 62.5% reduction in peak cooling load and a 63.0% reduction in seasonal cooling load. Daytime peak inward heat gain decreases from 68 W/m² to 22 W/m², while nighttime outward heat dissipation increases from 12 W/m² to 38 W/m². Under an extreme heat day of 41.2 °C with no active cooling, indoor peak temperature drops from 36.8 °C to 29.4 °C, and heat risk hours decrease by 73.6%. Peak-hour power demand is reduced by 70.4%, with a systemic leverage factor of 1.08. Innovations include achieving over 60% load reduction using only mature passive strategies, introducing the systemic leverage factor to quantify urban heat island mitigation benefits, and establishing a vulnerability-to-resilience transformation framework. The passive-first pathway validates building envelope as the first line of defense for net-zero futures. However, the findings are based on a typical six-story residential building in Nanjing and require validation through field measurements or broader application across different climate zones and building typologies before generalization. Full article

The safety profile for bio-derived phenols post-oxidation and their related antioxidant/redox potential remain largely under-explored. Oxidation by fungi, in terms of environmental impacts via fungal oxidation by enzymes, remains an attractive strategy under milder conditions, since it is one route by which many naturally occurring lignocellulosic phenols are modified; thus, an immediate need still exists for characterizing the effects that these modified phenolic compounds may have. Methodology: We examined four different biomass-derived phenolics—vanillin, ferulic acid, syringaldehyde and guaiacol—that were oxidized with fungal laccase and characterized their effects on normal human lung fibroblasts and levels of cellular oxidative stress. Laccase activity was evaluated via the ABTS method and through simple observation and UV-Vis spectroscopic scanning of the phenolics in question, and compared with the untreated version of each phenolic. In addition to assessing the cytotoxic effect and oxidative stress generated by the phenols alone, an ELISA-based measurement assay was used to investigate the relative abundance of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and reduced glutathione (GSH) in the human normal lung fibroblast cell line under varying treatment regimes, complemented by phase-contrast microscopy. Scores integrating the biomarkers were analyzed via clustering, PCA, radar and Pearson correlation analyses, to discern distinct trends in antioxidant potential after laccase conversion. Observations: Each of the four tested phenolics demonstrated the presence of laccase activity, leading to substantial differences in visible appearance compared with the control and characteristic absorbance shifts at differing wavelengths from the original molecule. Cell viability dropped dramatically as phenol concentration was increased and the untreated phenolics resulted in diminished confluence and induced greater levels of oxidative damage, from guaiacol and syringaldehyde. Laccase treatment resulted in higher MTT reduction activity and improved cellular morphology compared with the corresponding untreated phenolic compounds. Untreated phenols induced the highest levels of MDA, while decreasing SOD, CAT, GPx and GSH levels. Post-oxidation with laccase, there were lower amounts of lipid peroxidation, along with improved levels of antioxidant activity compared with the control phenol. Multi-technique analyses show clear distinctness between the untreated and laccase-converted phenolic groups. Clustering with multivariate techniques separated all cell groups in line with control samples, grouping the laccase-converted treatments towards the middle and displaying an inverse relationship between MDA and the antioxidant markers. Conclusions: Laccase conversion markedly decreases the adverse effects that bio-derived phenols have on normal cell viability and induces fewer detrimental effects on the cellular redox balance. This is a critical discovery in terms of finding greener methods by which to upgrade bio-derived substances as we research these lignocellulosic phenols. By employing ELISA-based measurements along with multiple analysis techniques, we present a suitable paradigm for studying biological effects in all bio-based goods intended for pharmaceuticals, packaging materials, nutraceuticals or a host of different applications. Full article

The results of a multiscale study of fault and fracture geometry, distribution, density, and intensity are reported for Mesozoic platform carbonates cropping out along the axial zones of the southern Apennines fold-and-thrust belt, Italy. By integrating field structural observations with digital outcrop analysis, the study focuses on Cretaceous limestone rocks exposed along natural creeks and artificial trails of the Castelsaraceno area, Raparo Mt., southern Italy. There, the limestone beds are bounded by mm- to cm-thick marly–clayey interbeds, forming a well-layered succession made up of a few m-thick bed packages bounded by several cm-thick clayish interlayers. The carbonate multilayer was first affected by thrust tectonics, with the formation of low-angle intra-carbonate thrust faults and fault bend-folding. Then, the multilayer was crosscut by extensional–transtensional high-angle faults, which displaced the previously formed contractional structural elements, and allowed carbonate exhumation from shallow crustal depths. At outcrop scales, thrust-related deformation was solved by low-angle joints and veins, rare high-angle stylolites, and low-angle sheared fractures displaying reverse kinematics. Quantitative analyses of fracture density (P20) and intensity (P21) conducted on selected portions of the thrust fault zones indicate that the low-angle joints and veins attain their highest values in the vicinity of the main slip surfaces, whereas they are almost absent in the surrounding carbonate host rocks. Plio-Quaternary transtensional deformation was solved by NW–SE- and NE–SW striking faults. The latter fault set, nicely exposed along the flanks of the Raganello Creek, was characterized by right-lateral components of slip. Incipient faults, with ca. 1 cm throw, are made up of vertically discontinuous slip surfaces, which crosscut single bed packages and abut against clayish interlayers. The slip surfaces form conjugate geometries, and are associated to high-angle fractures and veins striking NE–SW, dissecting the bed packages. The fault core is virtually absent, whereas the damage zones are very discontinuous along dip. The P20 values computed for the high-angle fractures and veins increase toward the slip surfaces, whereas the P21 values remain nearly constant. These data are interpreted as being due to fault nucleation processes associated with fracture nucleation within the limestone rocks. NE–SW striking small faults displaying throws between 10 and 60 cm are comprised of through-going main slip surfaces crosscutting multiple bed packages, and poorly developed, discontinuous fault cores flanked by m-thick damage zones. The damage zones include sub-parallel high-angle shear fractures, fractures and veins showing a positive correlation between P20 and P21, whose values increase in the vicinity of the main slip surfaces. Such a positive correlation is interpreted as due to fault growth by linkage and coalescence of pre-existing high-angle fractures, and formation of fault-related joints and veins at the extensional quadrants of single shear fractures. Similarly, large-scale NE–SW striking mature faults with throws on the order of tens of meters, made up of a m-thick fault core and 10 s of m-thick damage zones including sub-parallel fractures and veins, also show a positive P20 and P21 correlation. The main outputs of this work are synthesized into a conceptual model illustrating the transition from thrust-related deformation to extensional–transtensional faulting, documenting the evolution of fracture networks from incipient-to-small-to-mature faults. Full article

Active packaging systems have emerged as a promising strategy to control microbial spoilage without direct incorporation of preservatives into food matrices. In this context, this study evaluated bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) as a nanostructured carrier for vapor-phase delivery of natural antifungal compounds in bread preservation. Cinnamaldehyde (CIN), cinnamon extract and clove extract were screened against Aspergillus niger, Penicillium chrysogenum, and Rhizopus microsporus using minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and inverted halo assays. CIN demonstrated complete fungal inhibition at 0.19% (v/v), corresponding to approximately 2.0 mg/mL, outperforming plant extracts, which exhibited limited and concentration-dependent activity. When incorporated into BNC at a 1:1 ratio (50% reduced loading), CIN maintained inhibition halos comparable to the free compound, indicating effective release and preserved bioavailability. The performance of the system was further evaluated in a bread model using a non-contact active packaging approach. Fungal growth in control samples was detected by day 6 (>10⁵ CFU/g), while incorporation of plant extracts into BNC delayed spoilage to day 9 (≈50% shelf-life extension). In contrast, breads treated with CIN, either free or BNC-incorporated, showed no detectable fungal growth throughout 21 days of storage, corresponding to a shelf-life extension of at least 15 days. These results demonstrate that antifungal efficacy in vapor-phase systems depends primarily on the intrinsic potency of the active compound, while BNC acts as an effective carrier matrix that promotes sustained retention and functional availability of CIN. The use of BNC-based active packaging for cinnamaldehyde delivery represents a promising clean-label strategy to control fungal spoilage and extend the shelf life of bread without direct incorporation into the food matrix. Full article

Chitosan, produced through deacetylation of chitin from crustacean byproducts and, increasingly, fungal biomass and insects, is attracting food-sector interest because it combines antimicrobial activity, antioxidant capacity, biodegradability, and film-forming behavior in a single polymer. This review discusses how source, molecular weight (MW), degree of deacetylation, solubility, and charge density shape its performance in food systems. The paper then follows the main technological routes now tested or used: edible films and coatings, hydrogels, cryogels, nanoparticles, microcapsules, and hybrid matrices. These formats can protect fresh produce, meat, poultry, fish, seafood, and dairy foods, while also supporting beverage clarification, emulsion control, release of natural antimicrobials or antioxidants, and freshness monitoring in active or intelligent packaging. The evidence indicates strong promise, especially where microbial growth, lipid oxidation, moisture transfer, and short shelf life remain limiting factors. Yet, wider industrial use is still slowed by water sensitivity, sensory effects, raw-material variation, cost, process scale-up, and regulatory alignment. Future work should move beyond laboratory efficacy and address reproducible production, food-specific validation, and consumer acceptance. Full article

Wavelength stability of distributed feedback (DFB) semiconductor lasers in dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) systems hinges on sub-millikelvin temperature regulation, a task complicated by the nonlinear, multi-node dynamics of the thermoelectric cooler (TEC) and the purely reactive nature of conventional proportional–integral–derivative (PID) control. We present a physics-informed neural network (PINN) built around a residual correction architecture for hybrid feedforward–feedback TEC temperature control. Rather than penalizing physics-residual violations in the loss function, the architecture wires a simplified one-node thermal model directly into the network graph as a frozen baseline. A trainable branch then learns only the residual mismatch. Temporal lag features are appended to the input so that the network can reconstruct unmeasured internal thermal states from the cold-side temperature history, which proves essential for overcoming the partial-observability bottleneck inherent in multi-node TEC packages. Ablation experiments on a high-fidelity three-node TEC simulator show that all model variants (PINN, physics-feature-augmented NN, and pure NN) exceed R² = 0.993 when trained on the full dataset, yet the PINN’s advantage becomes pronounced under data scarcity. At a 3% training budget, it reaches R² = 0.966 versus 0.930 for the pure NN, implying an approximately 5.4× reduction in the data needed to reach a given accuracy target. In closed-loop validation, the PINN+PID hybrid settles 60% faster than standalone PID. Tracking RMSE drops by 69%, and peak disturbance deviation falls by 74%, across step, multi-setpoint, and current-perturbation scenarios. All results reported here are obtained in simulations. Experimental validation on physical DFB-TEC hardware is left to future work. Full article

Polymer-based active packaging systems incorporating natural bioactive agents have attracted growing interest as eco-friendly alternatives to traditional food packaging materials. In this study, Pistacia lentiscus essential oil (PLEO) was incorporated into PCL/gelatin nanofibrous mats fabricated via solution blow spinning (SBS) to develop multifunctional and biodegradable active packaging materials. Neat PCL, gelatin-blended PCL (PCL–G) and PCL–G mats containing 5, 10 and 20 wt.% PLEO were produced and thoroughly analyzed for their morphological, chemical and functional characteristics. Morphological investigation revealed a smooth, bead-free fibrous structure in all samples. The average fiber diameter (AFD) increased from 239 nm to 320 nm with the addition of gelatin to the PCL matrix, while the incorporation of different concentrations of PLEO caused only minor changes. The results showed that as the concentration of PLEO increased, the antioxidant activity of the nanofibrous mats also increased. This enhancement is potentially linked to the rich content of bioactive molecules such as β-pinene, terpineol and verbenol. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl scavenging activity improved from 6.4% (PCL) to 60% (PCL–G–20PLEO), and ABTS activity rose from 8.7% to 72%. In addition, antimicrobial evaluation showed inhibition zones of 12.5 mm against Escherichia coli and 14.2 mm against Staphylococcus aureus for the PCL–G–20PLEO nanofibrous mats. In 14-day storage tests on Kashar cheese, PCL–G–10PLEO and PCL–G–20PLEO mats reduced microbial counts by more than 2 log units compared with the control and effectively slowed yeast and mold growth. These findings confirm the potential of the PCL–G–PLEO nanofibrous mat as novel active packaging materials for preserving dairy products such as Kashar cheese. Full article

Convolutional neural networks (CNN) have transformed visual recognition, yet robust geometric reasoning, reliable out-of-distribution generalization, and recognition from limited data remain substantially unsolved. CNNs draw their architectural inspiration from the mammalian visual cortex, but the translation from biology to engineering was selective and, in places, imprecise, and those imprecisions have consequences that are well documented. This paper examines where the biological fidelity holds and where it gives way, grounding the analysis in formal results that predate deep learning and in recent empirical findings on CNN failure modes. We identify three diagnosable architectural limitations. First, CNNs conflate visual modalities that the biological system separates structurally at the lateral geniculate nucleus, feeding raw RGB pixels into a single undifferentiated filter bank and entangling orientation, color, and texture signals from the first layer onward. Second, CNNs repeat a spatial subsampling operation across the full depth of the network, far beyond the early visual cortex stages where it has biological warrant. Barnard and Casasent established formally in 1990 that this operation discards positional information irreversibly at every layer where it is applied, and repeating it into regions that correspond to V4 and inferotemporal cortex compounds this loss without the compensating transition to qualitatively different computations that the biological hierarchy performs. Third, the pooling-as-complex-cell analogy that motivated this design reflects a misreading of what complex cells compute. The spatiotemporal energy model formalizes complex cell behavior as geometry extraction: detecting the presence and orientation of a local edge structure robustly, abstracting over photometric accidents of contrast polarity and sub-wavelength phase that are not geometrically meaningful. Pooling is a tolerable first-stage approximation of this behavior, but as a general-purpose invariance mechanism repeated across the full depth of the network, it is attempting something categorically different, namely object-level position invariance through spatial subsampling, which achieves its goal by discarding exactly the geometric information that the energy model preserves. Treating pooling as a scalable, indefinitely repeatable implementation of complex cell behavior—rather than as a first-stage approximation with a natural biological endpoint at V3—conflates two operations that differ not in degree but in kind, and crucially it removed the principled criterion for confining the S-C operation to early visual cortex: because pooling was understood as a general-purpose invariance mechanism, the field had no architectural reason to stop repeating it. We survey how capsule networks, group-equivariant CNNs, PDE-based networks, and vision transformers each address one or two of these limitations while leaving the others intact. We propose six desiderata that a more biologically complete architecture would need to satisfy and argue that satisfying them requires treating the visual cortex’s solution as a coherent package in which each component depends on the others working correctly, rather than as a menu of independently selectable principles. Full article

The development of bio-based active packaging materials has gained increasing attention as a sustainable alternative to synthetic plastics. In this study, chitosan-based films incorporating yerba mate kombucha infusion (YMK-I) were developed and fully characterized. Films were prepared using different YMK-I concentrations (25–100% v/v) as solvent, with acetic acid-based chitosan films as controls. The infusion showed pH 2.5, titratable acidity of 3.5%, total solids of 6%, high phenolic content (1085 mg GAE/L), and reducing sugars (18.3 g/L). Acetic and lactic acids were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) values ranged from 0.03 µg/mL for Staphylococcus aureus to 0.3 µg/mL for Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Rheological results indicated that YMK-I performed similarly to acetic acid as a solvent. Fourier Transformed Infrared with Attenuated Total Reflectance (FTIR-ATR) suggested interactions between chitosan and bioactive compounds. Thermal analyses showed that YMK-I acted as a plasticizer and introduced thermolabile components, altering glass transition and degradation behavior. Increasing YMK-I content reduced tensile strength and increased elongation, indicating greater flexibility, while water vapor permeability increased due to hydrophilic compounds. Films enriched with YMK-I exhibited high antioxidant activity (Radical Scavenging Activity > 85%) and strong antimicrobial effects (>98% inhibition) against E. coli and S. aureus. These results highlight the potential of chitosan–kombucha films as multifunctional materials for specialized applications. Full article

Exosomes are small vesicles released by cells that have attracted growing interest as drug delivery vehicles, particularly for brain diseases, where getting therapeutics across the BBB remains a fundamental problem. While conventional platforms such as liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, and viral vectors often suffer from immune clearance and poor brain accumulation, engineered exosomes leverage natural cellular transport mechanisms to cross the BBB, protect cargo from degradation, and enable biocompatible interactions with target cells. This review takes a mechanistic and translational look at how exosomes are being engineered for CNS disorders, with a particular focus on glioblastoma. We cover exosome biogenesis through ESCRT-dependent and ESCRT-independent pathways, and how the competition between Rab27-driven secretion and Rab7-driven lysosomal degradation determines how many exosomes a cell releases, which has direct consequences for therapeutic production. We then discuss cargo loading strategies, from genetic approaches where donor cells are engineered to package specific molecules during biogenesis to physical methods like electroporation and sonication applied to isolated vesicles, alongside surface modification techniques for directing exosomes toward specific cell types. In glioblastoma, engineered exosomes have shown real promise for delivering chemotherapeutics across the BBB, targeting glioma stem cells, enabling CRISPR-based gene editing, and functioning as combined treatment and imaging tools. Applications in stroke and neurodegenerative diseases, where engineered exosomes carrying microRNAs and neuroprotective cargo have produced encouraging preclinical results, are also discussed. Scalable manufacturing and consistent targeting remain the hardest unsolved problems, and we outline emerging approaches including bioreactor-based production, programmable cargo loading, and patient-specific exosome design that are beginning to address these gaps. Overall, the progress reviewed here suggests that engineered exosomes are moving from an interesting biological concept toward a practically viable platform for CNS drug delivery. Full article

Synthetic-materials-induced environmental burdens have shifted the focus of scientists towards sustainable packaging solutions. Three-dimensional (3D) woven fabrics offering superior mechanical durability are a promising solution to the problem. However, this area has remained unattended by researchers in the field of packaging technology. Hence this study focuses on development of warp, weft, and bidirectional interlock 3D woven fabrics for packaging applications. Aiming at mechanical durability, tensile and creep characterization have been carried out, depicting the strong influence of interlacement patterns on mechanical properties. Increasing the number of interlacements decreased tensile and creep strength, such as the lower weftwise tensile strength offered by weft interlock 3D, and vice versa for warp interlock. While elongations were found higher in interlocking directions, creep loadings carried out at 30% and 60% of breaking loads revealed unique after tensile creep behaviors. Weftwise tensile strength decreased after creep; warp interlock 3D entailed 42% decrease in tensile strength after creep. However, warpwise tensile strength was noticed to be higher for weft interlock 3D, owing to alignment of yarns during applied creep, while a decrease was noticed in elongation percentages. In a nutshell, the engineered 3D interlacements entailed successful tailoring of mechanical properties, paving a pathway towards high-strength sustainable packaging. Full article

Essential oils (EOs) are widely studied as natural antimicrobial and antioxidant agents in food systems. However, their high volatility, low water solubility, instability, phytotoxicity, and strong aroma often limit their consistent applicability for food preservation. This review critically examines the literature and synthesizes current essential oil stabilization and delivery strategies in food systems, integrated with a bibliometric analysis of Scopus-indexed literature published before June 2025. The bibliometric findings showed an expanding research field, supported by 543 authors and 54 journals, revealing the disciplinary diversity of research on essential oil-based preservation systems. In addition, the review highlights a significant focus of studies on nanoemulsions, encapsulation, and active packaging in essential oil applications. Interestingly, the study also reveals the emergence of non-contact, or vapor-phase, technologies with improved release management. Furthermore, the review shows that essential oils’ functionality depends not only on major bioactive compounds but also on chemical class, oxidative sensitivity, release behavior, interactions with the food matrix, and the delivery platform. Mechanistically, stabilization technologies such as emulsions, encapsulation, and coatings/films can improve the protection, dispersion, and release of essential oils; however, their effectiveness strongly relies on formulation variables, matrix composition, and the regulatory framework. Emerging platforms such as nanofibers, zeolites, and metal–organic frameworks offer promising routes for vapor-phase or non-contact delivery systems, ensuring improved release control, functionality, and sensory quality, but may be limited by their scalability and production cost. However, a major research gap identified by this review is the imbalance between extensive “in vitro” studies and limited studies on real food matrices, which impedes understanding of the impacts of food matrices and packaging materials on essential oil release kinetics, antimicrobial efficacy, and sensory quality. Therefore, future research should integrate real-food applications, consumer acceptability, shelf-life performance, release-kinetic modeling, and techno-economic analysis to advance essential-oil-based technologies in food systems. Full article

The increasing demand for safe, minimally processed, and sustainable food preservation strategies has intensified interest in light-activated antimicrobial systems derived from natural sources. This review examines the application of plant-derived photoactive compounds as functional agents that generate reactive species upon illumination, thereby facilitating effective microbial inactivation. Emphasis is placed on the diversity of phytochemicals exhibiting light-responsive properties, their mechanisms of action, and the factors influencing their efficacy, including physicochemical characteristics, environmental conditions, and formulation strategies. The review further discusses the role of delivery systems in improving the stability, solubility, and bioavailability of these photoactive compounds, as well as the influence of food matrix complexity on treatment performance. Applications across a range of food systems, including fresh produce, animal-derived products, and food packaging materials, are evaluated to demonstrate their practical relevance in food preservation. In addition, current challenges are critically highlighted, including variability in plant extract composition, limited understanding of photosensitiser behaviour within complex food matrices, restricted light penetration, and challenges associated with standardisation and scalability. This work provides an overview of emerging natural photoactive systems and their potential to advance safer and environmentally sustainable food preservation technologies. Full article