Multi-Shaded Edible Films Based on Gelatin and Starch for the Packaging Applications

Starch and gelatin are natural biopolymers that offer a variety of benefits and are available at relatively low costs. In addition to this, they are an appealing substitute for synthetic polymers for the manufacturing of packaging films. Such packaging films are not only biodegradable but are also edible. Moreover, they are environmentally friendly and remain extremely cost-effective. In lieu of this, films made from fish gelatin and cornstarch have been the subject of several experiments. The pristine gelatin films have poor performance against water diffusion but exhibit excellent flexibility. The goal of this study was to assess the performance of pristine gelatin films along with the addition of food plasticizers. For this purpose, solutions of gelatin/cornstarch were prepared and specified quantities of food colors/plasticizers were added to develop different shades. The films were produced by using a blade coating method and were characterized by means of their shaded colors, water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), compositional changes via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), hardness, bendability, transparency, wettability, surface roughness, and thermal stability. It was observed that the addition of several food colors enhanced the moisture blocking effect, as a 10% reduction in WVTR was observed in the shaded films as compared to pristine films. The yellow-shaded films exhibited the lowest WVTR, i.e., around 73 g/m2·day when tested at 23 °C/65%RH. It was also observed that the films’ WVTR, moisture content, and thickness were altered when different colors were added into them, although the chemical structure remained unchanged. The mechanical properties of the shaded films were improved by a factor of two after the addition of colored plasticizers. Optical examination and AFM demonstrated that the generated films had no fractures and were homogeneous, clear, and shiny. Finally, a biscuit was packaged in the developed films and was monitored via shore hardness. It was observed that the edible packed sample’s hardness remained constant even after 5 days. This clearly suggested that the developed films have the potential to be used for packaging in various industries

UV Blocking and Oxygen Barrier Coatings Based on Polyvinyl Alcohol and Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles for Packaging Applications

Photodegradation and oxidation are major causes of the deterioration of food, resulting in darkening, off-flavors, and nutrient deficiency. To reduce this problem, novel functional polymeric materials are being developed to retain food’s light sensitivity. Nanofillers are also used in a polymeric film to produce effective UV blockings and oxygen barrier coatings so that the degradation of the food can be delayed, thereby increasing the shelf life. For this purpose, polyvinyl alcohol coatings were prepared by the incorporation of ZnO nanoparticles. Polyvinyl alcohol is a naturally excellent barrier against oxygen, and the addition of ZnO particles at the nanoscale size has demonstrated effective UV blocking capabilities. In this work, the hydrothermal technique is used to produce ZnO nanoparticles, and these produced particles are then incorporated into the polyvinyl alcohol to produce thin films. These films are characterized in terms of the compositional, macroscopic, microscopic, and optical properties via X-ray diffraction (XRD), FTIR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), as well as UV–VIS spectroscopy. ZnO nanoparticles at different concentrations were incorporated into the PVA solution, and the films were processed via the blade coating method. With the addition of ZnO, the oxygen transmission rate (OTR) of pure PVA was not altered and remained stable, and the lowest OTR was recorded as 0.65 cm3/m2·day·bar. Furthermore, the addition of ZnO increased the water contact angle (WCA) of PVA, and the highest WCA was recorded to be around more than 70°. Due to this, water permeability decreased. Additionally, PVA/ZnO films were highly flexible and bendable and maintained the OTR even after going through bending cycles of 20K. Furthermore, the addition of ZnO showed a significant UV blocking effect and blocked the rays below a wavelength of 380 nm. Finally, the optimized films were used for packaging applications, and it was observed that the packaged apple remained fresh and unoxidized for a longer period as compared with the piece of apple without packaging. Thus, based on these results, the PVA/ZnO films are ideally suited for packaging purposes and can effectively enhance the shelf life of food

Comparative Study of TiMn and TiAlV Alloys via the Nanoindentation Technique

There are two common categories of implants that are used in medical sciences, i.e., orthopedic and dental ones. In this study, dental implant materials are focused such as Ti6Al4V alloys that are used for the replacement of lost teeth due to their high strength and biocompatibility. However, they cause infections in nearby tissues due to elemental release (potentially Al and V). Thus, manganese is selected to be incorporated into the alloy since it is also present in the human body in the form of traces. Different sets of implants were produced, i.e., Ti5Mn and Ti10Mn (where 5 and 10 describe the percentage of Mn) by using the powder metallurgy technique. This was followed by characterization techniques, including X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), optical microscope (OM), and nanoindenter. The very aim of this study is to compare the microstructural evolutions, density, and mechanical properties of reference alloys and the ones produced in this study. Results show the microstructure of Ti6Al4V consists of the alpha (α) and beta (β) phases, while Ti5Mn and Ti10Mn revealed the beta (β) phases. The Ti5Mn alloy showed excellent mechanical properties than that of the Ti6Al4V counterpart. Extensive discussion is presented in light of the observed results. The relative density of Ti5Mn alloy was found to be enhanced than that of reference alloy

Comparative Study of TiMn and TiAlV Alloys via the Nanoindentation Technique

There are two common categories of implants that are used in medical sciences, i.e., orthopedic and dental ones. In this study, dental implant materials are focused such as Ti6Al4V alloys that are used for the replacement of lost teeth due to their high strength and biocompatibility. However, they cause infections in nearby tissues due to elemental release (potentially Al and V). Thus, manganese is selected to be incorporated into the alloy since it is also present in the human body in the form of traces. Different sets of implants were produced, i.e., Ti5Mn and Ti10Mn (where 5 and 10 describe the percentage of Mn) by using the powder metallurgy technique. This was followed by characterization techniques, including X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), optical microscope (OM), and nanoindenter. The very aim of this study is to compare the microstructural evolutions, density, and mechanical properties of reference alloys and the ones produced in this study. Results show the microstructure of Ti6Al4V consists of the alpha (α) and beta (β) phases, while Ti5Mn and Ti10Mn revealed the beta (β) phases. The Ti5Mn alloy showed excellent mechanical properties than that of the Ti6Al4V counterpart. Extensive discussion is presented in light of the observed results. The relative density of Ti5Mn alloy was found to be enhanced than that of reference alloy

Gelatin- and Papaya-Based Biodegradable and Edible Packaging Films to Counter Plastic Waste Generation

Most of the food packaging materials used in the market are petroleum-based plastics; such materials are neither biodegradable nor environmentally friendly and require years to decompose. To overcome these problems, biodegradable and edible materials are encouraged to be used because such materials degrade quickly due to the actions of bacteria, fungi, and other environmental effects. In this work, commonly available household materials such as gelatin, soy protein, corn starch, and papaya were used to prepare cost-effective lab-scale biodegradable and edible packaging film as an effective alternative to commercial plastics to reduce waste generation. Prepared films were characterized in terms of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), optical transparency, and tensile strength. FTIR confirmed the addition of papaya and soy protein to the gelatin backbone. WVTR of the gelatin-papaya films was recorded to be less than 50 g/m2/day. This water vapor barrier was five times better than films of pristine gelatin. The gelatin, papaya, and soy protein films exhibited transparencies of around 70% in the visible region. The tensile strength of the film was 2.44 MPa, which improved by a factor of 1.5 for the films containing papaya and soy protein. The barrier qualities of the gelatin and gelatin-papaya films maintained the properties even after going through 2000 bending cycles. From the results, it is inferred that the prepared films are ideally suitable for food encapsulation and their production on a larger scale can considerably cut down the plastic wastage

Exploring the Heterocatalytic Proficiencies of ZnO Nanostructures in the Simultaneous Photo-Degradation of Chlorophenols

The development of innovative technology for effective pollutant degradation is becoming more important as a result of major environmental issues. Here, ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized using facile and aqueous chemical growth routes. Analytical techniques such as scanning electron micrographs (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Zeta Seizer (ZS), and Zeta Potential were used to analyze the resultant nanoparticles (ZP). The ZnO reveals a nanocluster texture that has a medium scale of 27 nm and a surface charge (17 ± 3 mV) with a wurtzite phase and crystalline nature. Photo catalysts have a higher potential for the thermal disposal of chlorophenols pollutants due to their low cost and simple synthesis procedure. The as-prepared sample underwent photocatalysis for the simultaneous photo-degradation of PCP and TCP as a model dye under sunlight. The ZnO nanostructure exhibited an exceptional degradation of around 85–90% for PCP and TCP in the aqua liquid, with the lowest amount of catalyst dosage of 240–250 μg individually and simultaneously, over 3 min beneath the sun ray. The greater productivity of the ZnO nanostructure for natural deterioration during solar irradiation indicates that the aqueous chemical growth enables the creation of effective and affordable photocatalysts for the photodegradation of a variety of environmental contaminants