Green Chitosan-Flaxseed Gum Film Loaded with ZnO for Packaging Applications

Abstract

The possibility of manufacturing edible packaging materials with tailored properties and low cost has attracted much interest. This work presents a new material for edible packaging made from flaxseed gum (FSG) and chitosan (Ch) loaded with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs). ZnO-NPs are synthesized in situ during the preparation of the edible film. The Ch/FSG/ZnO-NPs films are prepared by casting Ch in different ratios of FSG (12.5%, 25%, 37.5%, and 50%). The resulting films are evaluated for their physicochemical, mechanical, and barrier properties to determine their suitability for coating or packaging food or bioproducts. By studying the antimicrobial activities of the ZnO-NPs loaded films, we can see that ZnO-NP's concentration highly affects these activities. In addition, the FSG improves mechanical properties. Films developed by incorporating ZnO-NPs are proposed to be appropriate for low-moisture food and pharmaceutical products, which can reduce environmental problems associated with synthetic packaging. Consequently, Ch/FSG composite films have the potential to replace conventional packaging.