INVESTIGADORES
MARCOVICH Norma Esther
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
CHITOSAN BASED EDIBLE FILMS WITH REDUCED WATER VAPOR PERMEABILITY
Autor/es:
NORMA E. MARCOVICH; MARIANA PEREDA; ALAIN DUFRESNE; MIRTA I. ARANGUREN
Lugar:
Praga
Reunión:
Conferencia; 7th International Conference on Nanostructured Polymers and Nanocomposites; 2012
Institución organizadora:
Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry - Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Prague (IMC)
Resumen:
Environmental concerns enhance and stimulate the use of renewable resources for producing
economically convenient applications to maintain or even improve life quality1. In particular, chitosan, the
de-N-acetylated form of chitin, is a natural cationic polysaccharide, natural, non-toxic, biodegradable and
available commercially, that has been employed in a variety of applications2. It is a well-known biopolymer
with a broad antimicrobial activity against bacteria and fungi3 that also acts as stabilizer of hydrocolloids -
lipids mixtures, promoting emulsion formation and interfacial stabilization. Chitosan films have a selective
permeability to gases (CO2 and O2) and good mechanical properties. However, due to their hydrophilic
nature, they are poor barriers to moisture, which limits their uses4,5. This is an important drawback since an
effective control of moisture transfer is a desirable property for most foods. Thus, the objective of this work
is to improve the resistance to water of chitosan films by the addition of hydrophobic compounds such as
olive oil and at the same time, to improve the mechanical response by the incorporation of cellulose
nanofibers.