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Chitosan tailor‐made films: the effects of additives on barrier and mechanical properties
Author(s) -
Yoshida Cristiana M. P.,
Oliveira Junior Enio Nazaré,
Franco Telma Teixeira
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
packaging technology and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.365
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1099-1522
pISSN - 0894-3214
DOI - 10.1002/pts.839
Subject(s) - carnauba wax , plasticizer , beeswax , chitosan , ultimate tensile strength , elongation , materials science , wax , chemical engineering , glycerol , emulsion , composite material , palmitic acid , polymer chemistry , chemistry , organic chemistry , fatty acid , engineering
With the aim of achieving ‘tailor‐made’ chitosan films, the effects of several variables on the properties of chitosan films were studied. These variables were chitosan concentration and molecular weight of thermally depolymerized chitosan, addition of lipids (palmitic acid, beeswax or carnauba wax) and plasticizer (glycerol). The water vapour transmission rate (WVTR) and mechanical properties of these films were measured. The innovative feature of this study is that it provides specific information to support the design of tailor‐made films. These can only be formulated when the effects of the important variables are well understood. It was found that WVTR was reduced by 57% in film made from chitosan that had been thermally treated for 7 h at 100°C (molecular mass 13.7 kDa), while in the emulsion films, the WVTR was increased by incorporation of palmitic acid, beeswax or carnauba wax incorporation. The mechanical properties (tensile strength and elongation at break) were improved when glycerol was used as plasticizer, resulting in more elastic films (increasing the elongation at break by 62%). Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.