Reducing cherry rain-cracking: Enhanced wetting and barrier properties of chitosan hydrochloride-based coating with dual nanoparticles

Chengwang Chen; Shuangling Zhang; Xiaofang Cheng; Yuhang Ren; Yaru Qian; Cheng Zhang; Min Chen; Nan Sun; Heping Liu

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.131660

Reducing cherry rain-cracking: Enhanced wetting and barrier properties of chitosan hydrochloride-based coating with dual nanoparticles

Int J Biol Macromol. 2024 Apr 16;268(Pt 2):131660. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.131660. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Chengwang Chen¹, Shuangling Zhang², Xiaofang Cheng¹, Yuhang Ren¹, Yaru Qian¹, Cheng Zhang¹, Min Chen¹, Nan Sun¹, Heping Liu¹

Affiliations

¹ College of Food Science & Engineering, Qingdao Agricultural University, No. 700, Changcheng Road, Qingdao 266109, PR China.
² College of Food Science & Engineering, Qingdao Agricultural University, No. 700, Changcheng Road, Qingdao 266109, PR China. Electronic address: zhshuangalicia@hotmail.com.

PMID: 38636766
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.131660

Abstract

The synergistic effects of phosphorylated zein nanoparticles (PZNP) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) in enhancing the wetting and barrier properties of chitosan hydrochloride (CHC)-based coating are investigated characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectra (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy and by investigating the mechanical properties, etc., with the aim of reducing cherry rain cracking. FTIR and XRD showed dual nanoparticles successfully implanted into CHC, CHC-PZNP-CNC combined moderate ductility (elongation at break: 7.8 %), maximum tensile strength (37.5 MPa). The addition of PZNP alone significantly improved wetting performance (Surface Tension, CHC: 55.3 vs. CHC-PZNP: 48.9 mN/m), while the addition of CNC alone led to a notable improvement in the water barrier properties of CHC (water vapor permeability, CHC: 6.75 × 10^-10 vs. CHC-CNC: 5.76 × 10^-10 gm^-1 Pa^-1 s^-1). The final CHC-PZNP-CNC coating exhibited enhanced wettability (51.2 mN/m) and the strongest water-barrier property (5.32 × 10^-10 gm^-1 Pa^-1 s^-1), coupled with heightened surface hydrophobicity (water contact angle: 106.4°). Field testing demonstrated the efficacy of the CHC-PZNP-CNC coating in reducing cherry rain-cracking (Cracking Index, Control, 42.3 % vs. CHC-PZNP-CNC, 19.7 %; Cracking Ratio, Control, 34.6 % vs. CHC-PZNP-CNC, 15.8 %). The CHC-PZNP-CNC coating is a reliable option for preventing rain-induced cherry cracking.

Keywords: Cellulose nanocrystals; Cherry rain-cracking; Chitosan hydrochloride coating; Phosphorylated zein nanoparticles; Water barrier; Wetting properties.