Study of alkali-soluble curdlan/bacterial cellulose/cinnamon essential oil blend films with enhanced mechanical properties

In response to the growing demand for biodegraded film with high mechanical properties for complex preser-vation application scenarios, we developed a curdlan (CD) blended films with exceptional mechanical strength through an alkali dissolution method. Notably, the alkali-soluble CD film exhibited five-fold increase in tensile strength (TS) when compared to its water-soluble counterpart. Furthermore, the inclusion of 2 % bacterial cellulose (BC) resulted in a significant 41.1 % augmentation of the film's TS. Thermal stability improvements were observed through differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results provided insights into al-terations in film crystallinity and intermolecular interactions. Specifically, the incorporation of 10 % CEO led to an additional improvement in TS. Our experimental investigations involving the packaging of chilled fresh meat with these blended films unveiled their capacity to effectively inhibit microorganism growth, maintain meat color stability, delay protein decomposition and fat oxidation, and extend the storage time up to 9 days. Our study offers a promising solution for food packaging, emphasizing the development of a high-strength degradable CD/BC/CEO blended film, which holds potential for extending the shelf life of food products.

Automated summary

A curdlan blended film with exceptional mechanical strength was developed through an alkali dissolution method. The addition of bacterial cellulose significantly augmented the film's tensile strength. Experimental investigations showed that using these blended films for packaging chilled fresh meat effectively inhibited microorganism growth, maintained meat color stability, delayed protein decomposition and fat oxidation, and extended the storage time.