Nanotechnology applications in food packaging industry

Nanotechnology, which uses substances on an atomic, molecular, and even supramolecular scale, is cooperating with biotechnology in stable and flexible packing business. In accordance with the recent market polls, it is obvious that the influence of nanotechnology on food and beverage packaging manufacturing has been substantially increasing. Nanotechnology provides scientists with the opportunity to modify the structure of materials on the nanoscale. Scientists may produce the new design of molecules to achieve certain purposes. Nanotechnology, which represents the discipline of very small materials, is ready to play a major role in food manufacturing and packaging. The freshness of food can be observed or shown by people, or they can demonstrate whether thawing of the frozen food has taken place in the course of its storing or conveyance. Nanostructured materials are used as oxygen hunters, antimicrobial thin films, and gas-permeable composites. At the same time, nanocomposite films may be employed for the purpose of removing dirty air, for example, carbon dioxide from the package. Nanoclay is used most frequently for acquiring barrier coatings. The exfoliation of the functionalized and nonfunctionalized montmorillonite plates is performed in order to acquire good resistance to water and oxygen passing throughout the package film. In case radiation curing technologies are associated with nanostructured polymers, it is possible to produce strong and extremely robust films. Developments in the food and beverage industry are at a very early stage and are currently being shaped by advancements in other fields, most specifically the pharmaceutical industry. Currently, the major uses of nanotechnology in the food and beverage sector are in packaging and in health/nutraceutical supplements, and it is anticipated that its use will not only upsurge within these sectors in the near future but will also grow into other areas including ingredient functionality, emulsions, and sensors. © 2017, Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd

PLA-Based Nanocomposites Reinforced with CNC for Food Packaging Applications: From Synthesis to Biodegradation

The costs of biobased and biodegradable polymers are generally still much higher than that of their traditional polymer counterparts Frequently used in the food packaging field. Although PLA is currently used in the market in several packaging applications,its potential to substitute petrochemical-based polymers has not yet been realized in full perspective. The reinforcing effect of CNC has a large potential inenhancing the crystallinity of PLA that could result in higher tortuosity of the transport path improving the typically low barrier properties of PLA. However, the high polarity of CNC surface should be reduced for the industrial melt processing of PLA?nanocellulose-based materials. The surface functionalization by means of the use of a surfactant is an easy way to improve the dispersion of CNC into PLA matrix.The well dispersion of cellulosic nanoparticles achieved during nanocomposite processing has a large potential in improving the mechanical performance. Additionally, the CNC presence also accelerates the degradation rate of the PLA-based nanocomposites.These bionanocomposites are promising candidates for sustainable post-use waste treatments, such as composting, when short biodegradation times are required like the case of food packaging.Fil: Arrieta, M. P.. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; EspañaFil: Peltzer, Mercedes Ana. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Área Ingeniería en Alimentos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: López, J.. Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. Instituto de Tecnología de Materiales; EspañaFil: Peponi, L.. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; Españ

Nanopatterns Produced by Directed Self-Assembly in Block Copolymer Thin Films

For the last 30 years, block copolymers (BCP) have held the promises of new functional nanomaterials due to their fascinating spontaneous spatial organization as well as their complex properties, combining those of the individual blocks. The pathway is long, starting at the first synthesis mastered in the 1950s [1], travelling through full thermodynamics descriptions [2], the discovery of industrially viable synthesis technologies [3], and the first patents in one of the expected most appealing applicative fields [4]. This path still has obstacles and challenges ahead before block copolymer nanostructures really come out of the research laboratories. Until then, and for many more years, BCPs will keep researchers busy and amazed by their capacities to spontaneously produce chemically and topographically patterned surfaces [5]...