Biodegradable Films Made from Sodium Caseinate

PEREDA, MARIANA; ARANGUREN. MIRTA I.; MARCOVICH, NORMA E.

Los Cocos,Córdoba, Argentina

Simposio; III Argentine-Chilean Polymer Symposium, ARCHIPOL III; 2005

Los Cocos,Córdoba, Argentina, 4 al 7 de diciembre de 2005) 2 páginas Sodium caseinate is a commercially available water-soluble polymer obtained by acid precipitation of casein, the main protein in cow milk. Caseinate presents thermoplastic and film forming properties due to its random coil nature and its ability to form weak intermolecular interactions i.e. hydrogen, electrostatic and hydrophobic bonds [Audic and Chaufer, 2005; Longares et al, 2005]. Caseinate derived edible film wraps may be able to partially replace some conventional synthetic packaging materials used to preserve and protect foods [Schou et al, 2005]. On the other hand, chitosan is derived from chitin, which is the second most abundant polysaccharide on earth next to cellulose and is available from waste products in the shellfish industry [Xu et al, 2005]. Its importance resides in its antimicrobial properties in conjunction with its cationicity and their film-forming properties (Arvanitoyannis et al, 1998). Chitosan is commercially available as a fine powder and could be used to reinforce food packaging films, not only with the aim of modifying their mechanical and barrier properties, but also to produce samples with antimicrobial properties. Thus, the aim of this preliminary study is to manufacture and characterize edible films made from sodium caseinate plasticized with glycerol, which will be reinforced with chitosan in the near future.