Active packaging of Kraft paper for the adsorption of phytohormone (ethylene) in the packaging of climacteric fruits

• Grant number: 16/25120-7
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: April 01, 2017
• End date: September 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Classius Ferreira da Silva
• Grantee: Classius Ferreira da Silva
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas (ICAQF). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Diadema. Diadema , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Cristiana Maria Pedroso Yoshida

Abstract

Agribusiness seeks alternatives to increase the shelf-life of perishable products such as fruits and vegetables. The development of active packaging to pack fruits can extend storage time while maintaining nutrient composition stability and physical integrity. This project aims to develop a new and sustainable active packaging material to adsorb the ethylene phytohormone from a chitosan coating by incorporating ethylene adsorbents on sheets of Kraft paper and to studying the stability of climacteric fruits packed in this packaging material. The application potential of this active packaging is to delay the ripening process of climacteric fruits, besides acting as an antimicrobial film, protecting the surface of the fruit. Kraft Paper is a raw material in the manufacture of corrugated cardboard, which is extensively used in various sectors (electronics, food, pharmaceutical, and others) as primary and secondary packaging due to the low cost of its production. The system consists of the interaction of chitosan, a natural polymer from the waste of the fishing industry and a material capable of adsorbing the phytohormone ethylene. Initially, a study of the impregnation of silver or palladium on the adsorbent material will be carried out. For this study, a factorial design (Factorial Design I) will be performed in which the studied variables will be: adsorbent type (zeolite Y or activated carbon), impregnated metal (silver or palladium) and metal/adsorbent mass ratio. The adsorption capacity of ethylene will be one of the responses evaluated in this factorial design. An adsorbent of this Factorial Design I will be chosen for the coating of Kraft paper, the choice of this will be based on the best performance in the adsorption of ethylene. A second factorial design (Factorial Design II) will be used to delineate the coating conditions of the Kraft paper, and the studied variables will be the chitosan concentration and the adsorbent mass. In this second factorial design the following properties (responses) will be evaluated: grammaget, water vapor permeability (PVA), water absorption capacity, Taber stiffness, contact angle and ethylene adsorption capacity. The coatings will also be evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (microstructure), thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTir). Finally, with the best result from Factorial Design II, a cartridge will be prepared to pack a climacteric fruit (cherry tomato). The chemical and microbiological stabilities during the storage will be assessed, as well the measurement of the ethylene adsorption. The chemical properties and organoleptic characteristics of the fruit will also be evaluated. The subject of this research received the CRQ-IV prize in 2015 as the best Final Work of Undergraduate in Industrial Chemistry under the supervision of the proponent of the project. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

GATTO, MARIANE; OCHI, DEISE; PEDROSO YOSHIDA, CRISTIANA MARIA; DA SILVA, CLASSIUS FERREIRA. Study of chitosan with different degrees of acetylation as cardboard paper coating. Carbohydrate Polymers, v. 210, p. 56-63, APR 15 2019. (16/25120-7)

SOARES, THALITA R. P.; REIS, ANDRESA F.; DOS SANTOS, JACKSON W. S.; CHAGAS, EDUARDO G. L.; VENTURINI, ANNA C.; SANTIAGO, RAFAELLE G.; BASTOS-NETO, MOISES; VIEIRA, RODRIGO SILVEIRA; CARVALHO, ROSEMARY A.; DA SILVA, CLASSIUS F.; et al. NaY-Ag Zeolite Chitosan Coating Kraft Paper Applied as Ethylene Scavenger Packaging. Food and Bioprocess Technology, v. N/A, p. 15-pg., 2023-01-04. (16/25120-7, 16/21073-4)