Functionalized Bionanocomposite Films based on Alginate and Pectin for Food Packaging Applications

Over the past three decades, rapid population growth and urbanization drastically increased consumption of petroleum based non-biodegradable polymers and coincidentally, an alarming accumulation of plastic wastes in the natural environment generated ubiquitous and persistent land and marine pollution which threatens the ecosystem. Lately, substantial advancement has been made in the development of biodegradable plastics, mainly from renewable natural resources, to prepare biodegradable materials with comparable functionality to that of petroleum-based polymers. The present study involves fabrication of antimicrobial bionanocomposite films based on pectin (obtained from apple puree) and alginate (obtained from brown seaweed) as natural, biocompatible and abundant materials intended for food packaging applications.