Optimization of the Physical, Optical and Mechanical Properties of Composite Edible Films of Gelatin, Whey Protein and Chitosan
Selene Elizabeth Herrera-Vázquez,
Octavio Dublán-García,
Daniel Arizmendi-Cotero,
Leobardo Manuel Gómez-Oliván,
Hariz Islas-Flores,
María Dolores Hernández-Navarro,
Ninfa Ramírez-Durán
Affiliations
Selene Elizabeth Herrera-Vázquez
Laboratorio de Alimentos y Toxicología Ambiental, Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Paseo Colón Intersección Paseo Tollocan s/n. Col. Residencial Colón, Toluca 50120, Estado de México, Mexico
Octavio Dublán-García
Laboratorio de Alimentos y Toxicología Ambiental, Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Paseo Colón Intersección Paseo Tollocan s/n. Col. Residencial Colón, Toluca 50120, Estado de México, Mexico
Daniel Arizmendi-Cotero
Departamento de Ingeniería Industrial, Facultad de Ingeniería, Campus Toluca, Universidad Tecnológica de México (UNITEC), Toluca 50160, Estado de México, Mexico
Leobardo Manuel Gómez-Oliván
Laboratorio de Alimentos y Toxicología Ambiental, Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Paseo Colón Intersección Paseo Tollocan s/n. Col. Residencial Colón, Toluca 50120, Estado de México, Mexico
Hariz Islas-Flores
Laboratorio de Alimentos y Toxicología Ambiental, Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Paseo Colón Intersección Paseo Tollocan s/n. Col. Residencial Colón, Toluca 50120, Estado de México, Mexico
María Dolores Hernández-Navarro
Laboratorio de Alimentos y Toxicología Ambiental, Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Paseo Colón Intersección Paseo Tollocan s/n. Col. Residencial Colón, Toluca 50120, Estado de México, Mexico
Ninfa Ramírez-Durán
Laboratorio de Microbiología Medica y Ambiental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Paseo Tollocan intersección Jesús Carranza s/n, Toluca 50120, Estado de México, Mexico
The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of the concentration of gelatin (G) (3–6 g), whey protein (W) (2.5–7.5 g) and chitosan (C) (0.5–2.5 g) on the physical, optical and mechanical properties of composite edible films (CEFs) using the response surface methodology (RSM), as well as optimizing the formulation for the packaging of foods. The results of the study were evaluated via first- and second-order multiple regression analysis to obtain the determination coefficient values with a good fit (R ˃ 0.90) for each of the response variables, except for the values of solubility and b*. The individual linear effect of the independent variables (the concentrations of gelatin, whey protein and chitosan) significantly affected (p ≤ 0.05) the water vapor permeability (WVP), strength and solubility of the edible films. The WVP of the edible films varied from 0.90 to 1.62 × 10−11 g.m/Pa.s.m2, the resistance to traction varied from 0.47 MPa to 3.03 MPa and the solubility varied from 51.06% to 87%. The optimized values indicated that the CEF prepared with a quantity of 4 g, 5 g and 3 g of gelatin, whey protein and chitosan, respectively, provided the CEF with a smooth, continuous and transparent surface, with L values that resulted in a light-yellow hue, a lower WVP, a maximum strength (resistance to traction) and a lower solubility. The results revealed that the optimized formulation of the CEF of G–W–C allowed a good validation of the prediction model and could be applied, in an effective manner, to the food packaging industry, which could help in mitigating the environmental issues associated with synthetic packaging materials.
