Green strategies for active food packagings: A systematic review on active properties of graphene-based nanomaterials and biodegradable polymers

Background: The emergence of microorganisms resistant to antibiotics and oxidation processes are serious challenges faced by the food packaging industry. Since the packaging can be hurdle technology to food protection and preservation, active packagings receive increasing attention due to the possibility of microbial, quality, and safety control of the product packed. Scope and approach: This Systematic Review aims to present strategies based on nanocarbon and biodegradables polymers to enhance main properties and adding new functionalities for packaging materials. A refined search on four databases in the last five years retrieved a total of 23 articles. This review focused on antimicrobial and antioxidant activity, target pathogens, and mechanisms. Key findings and conclusions: Carbon nanotubes, graphene oxide, polylactide, and chitosan were the primary materials found increasing antimicrobial and antioxidant features. This work found bioactive compounds as a secondary approach. Both polymers from biomass and nanocarbons can play a role at antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant mechanisms. The surface area and pristine sp(2) carbon domains on basal surfaces of graphene oxide contributed with radical stabilizing. The main modes of action proposed for bacterial and fungi control have been membrane disruption and oxidative stress. Although good potential against other pathogens, no work was recovered considering the antiviral activity of nanocomposites. Possibly, one of the significant promising alternatives for preservation of consumer's health is the conventional antimicrobials replacement by bioactive compounds from natural sources associated with nanotechnology, since it proved to favor inhibition of the oxidation and several microbial growths synergistically.