62
2018). Similarly, biodegradable active films using glycerol plasticized oxidized
corn starch with and without ethyl lauroyl arginate (LAE) imparted antimicrobial
properties to the films and greatly reduced the total viable counts in salmon (Moreno
et al. 2017).
Extracts have also been added in biodegradable films to be used for active, nonedible packaging. The antioxidant activity of the film is related to its ability to
release the entrapped active polyphenols. Jimenez et al. (2013) observed that starchsodium caseinate films incorporated with oleic acid that lost part of their antioxidant
capacity, while films incorporated with α- tocopherol showed an increased antioxidant activity. The effectiveness of an edible coating to protect fruits and vegetables
depends on the film properties and functionality of some compounds (plasticizers,
antimicrobials, antioxidants) within the matrix (Cerqueira et al. 2009). The loss of
these molecules affects the thickness of the film (Park 1999) and the solubility of
film in water as it is necessary to avoid the dissolution of the coating (Ozdemir and
Floros 2008).
Starch Nanocomposites Films
Apart from the lipids or antimicrobial components, addition to biopolymer based
films for improvement of mechanical, chemical or functional properties, a novel
technique based on the use of very small particles are gaining remarkable popularity
in food developments recently. Nowadays nanotechnology is applied with great
results in many research areas. One of these fields of application is nanocomposite
packaging films containing nanoparticles. A nanoparticle is an ultrafine particle in
the nanometer size (Hosokawa et al. 2008), which is able to form nano
biocomposite.
Nanocomposites” mean polymeric composite materials that are filled with nano
sized rigid particles (Gopalan Nair and Dufresne 2003). These nanocomposite
materials have superior mechanical, barrier, and thermal properties when compared
with conventional composites, they have also advantage of good recyclability, transparency and low weight (Oksman et al. 2006; Sorrentino et al. 2007). Nanocomposite
films containing AgNPs concentrations greater than 71.5 ppm inhibited the growth
of E. coli ATCC and Salmonella spp., which are responsible for most foodborne
disease and also caused a slight increase in film thickness and opacity, while
decrease in water vapor permeability with increasing AgNPs concentration was
observed by Ortega et al. (2017). Since starch is a biodegradable and nontoxic polymer so it has been widely used in non-food applications including papers, textiles,
plastics, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. However, some researchers suggested
starch nano-particles as reinforcement filler in the polymeric composites. A wide
range of polymeric matrixes including both natural and synthetic polymers have
been suggested for the composites with SNPs (Gopalan Nair and Dufresne 2003;
Anglès and Dufresne 2000). The incorporation of starch nano-particles into the synthetic polymer matrix, has not only improved the physical properties but the
M. Ahmad et al.
2018). Similarly, biodegradable active films using glycerol plasticized oxidized
corn starch with and without ethyl lauroyl arginate (LAE) imparted antimicrobial
properties to the films and greatly reduced the total viable counts in salmon (Moreno
et al. 2017).
Extracts have also been added in biodegradable films to be used for active, nonedible packaging. The antioxidant activity of the film is related to its ability to
release the entrapped active polyphenols. Jimenez et al. (2013) observed that starchsodium caseinate films incorporated with oleic acid that lost part of their antioxidant
capacity, while films incorporated with α- tocopherol showed an increased antioxidant activity. The effectiveness of an edible coating to protect fruits and vegetables
depends on the film properties and functionality of some compounds (plasticizers,
antimicrobials, antioxidants) within the matrix (Cerqueira et al. 2009). The loss of
these molecules affects the thickness of the film (Park 1999) and the solubility of
film in water as it is necessary to avoid the dissolution of the coating (Ozdemir and
Floros 2008).
Starch Nanocomposites Films
Apart from the lipids or antimicrobial components, addition to biopolymer based
films for improvement of mechanical, chemical or functional properties, a novel
technique based on the use of very small particles are gaining remarkable popularity
in food developments recently. Nowadays nanotechnology is applied with great
results in many research areas. One of these fields of application is nanocomposite
packaging films containing nanoparticles. A nanoparticle is an ultrafine particle in
the nanometer size (Hosokawa et al. 2008), which is able to form nano
biocomposite.
Nanocomposites” mean polymeric composite materials that are filled with nano
sized rigid particles (Gopalan Nair and Dufresne 2003). These nanocomposite
materials have superior mechanical, barrier, and thermal properties when compared
with conventional composites, they have also advantage of good recyclability, transparency and low weight (Oksman et al. 2006; Sorrentino et al. 2007). Nanocomposite
films containing AgNPs concentrations greater than 71.5 ppm inhibited the growth
of E. coli ATCC and Salmonella spp., which are responsible for most foodborne
disease and also caused a slight increase in film thickness and opacity, while
decrease in water vapor permeability with increasing AgNPs concentration was
observed by Ortega et al. (2017). Since starch is a biodegradable and nontoxic polymer so it has been widely used in non-food applications including papers, textiles,
plastics, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. However, some researchers suggested
starch nano-particles as reinforcement filler in the polymeric composites. A wide
range of polymeric matrixes including both natural and synthetic polymers have
been suggested for the composites with SNPs (Gopalan Nair and Dufresne 2003;
Anglès and Dufresne 2000). The incorporation of starch nano-particles into the synthetic polymer matrix, has not only improved the physical properties but the
M. Ahmad et al.