Chitosan/Olive Oil Films Reinforced with Nanocellulose Fibers

MARIANA PEREDA; ALAIN DUFRESNE; MIRTA I. ARANGUREN; NORMA E. MARCOVICH

Pto. Iguazú

Congreso; 13er Congreso Internacional en Ciencia y Tecnología de Metalurgia y Materiales 2013; 2013

Chitosan films have a selective permeability to gases (CO2 and O2) and good mechanical properties. However, they are poor barriers to moisture, which limits their uses in applications where the control of moisture transfer is desirable. To improve this behavior, olive oil was selected as the lipid because of its nutritional value and organoleptic characteristics. On the other hand, cellulose nanofibers have attracted significant attention not only because of their biodegradability and biocompatibility but mainly because they have excellent mechanical properties. Therefore, the objective of this work is to evaluate the combined use of cellulose nanoparticles and olive oil to reduce the water vapor permeability of chitosan films, improving, at the same time, their transparency. The response of chitosan-nanocellulose films (without lipid addition) will be also discussed, in order to facilitate the understanding of the individual effect of each additive.