Humidity-adjustable functional gelatin hydrogel/ethyl cellulose bilayer films for active food packaging application

Abstract

A sustainable functional bilayer film composed of gelatin hydrogel/ethyl cellulose was fabricated using a simple LBL casting method. The outer layer was hydrophobic ethyl cellulose (EC), while the inner layer was hydrophilic gelatin (GEL) hydrogel. Tannic acid (TA) served as a green cross-linker for GEL hydrogel preparation and as a reductant for AgNPs synthesis in-situ within the hydrogel network. Physicochemical and functional properties of the bilayer films containing different TA content were studied. When 3 wt% TA was added, the AgNPs@GT-3/EC bilayer film exhibited superior UV-light barrier, possessed desirable humidity-adjustable capability and oxygen barrier due to denser hydrogel network structure, and effectively inactivated foodborne pathogens S. aureus and E. coli with bacteriostatic rates of 99 %. The application results indicated that this bilayer film effectively maintained the postharvest quality of white button mushrooms and prolonged their shelf-life to 7 days under ambient storage, demonstrating its promising potential for fresh food packaging.

Keywords: Active food packaging; Adjustable humidity; Antibacterial activity; Ethyl cellulose; Gelatin.