Electrospun gelatin/chitosan nanofibers containing curcumin for multifunctional food packaging

Abstract

Recently, food grade nanofiber-based materials have received growing attentions in food packaging. In this work, novel active and intelligent packaging nanofibers based on gelatin/ chitosan with curcumin (GA/CS/CUR) were developed via electrospinning technique. Effects of the incorporation of CUR content (0.1 %－0.3 %, m/m) on the microstructure and functional properties of the electrospun nanofibers were investigated. Morphological studies using scanning electron microscopy indicated that loading CUR can affect the average diameter of nanofiber mats, which remained around 160180 nm. The addition of an appropriate level CUR (0.2 %, m/m) led to a stronger intermolecular interaction, and thus enhanced the thermal stability and tensile strength of the obtained nanofibers. Meanwhile, the incorporation of CUR significantly improved antioxidant activity and the antimicrobial activity of GA/CS/CUR nanofibers. Moreover, the sensitivity of nanofibers to ammonia results indicated that GA/CS nanofibers containing 0.2 % CUR (GA/CS/CUR II) presented high sensitivity of colorimetric behavior to ammonia (within 3 min). These results suggest GA/CS/CUR II nanofibers has great potential as a multifunctional packaging to protect and monitor the freshness of protein-rich animal foods, such as meat and seafood.

Keywords

• Electrospun nanofibers
• Curcumin
• NH3 indicator
• Active and intelligent packaging
• Antibacterial and antioxidant activities