Strategy Towards Active Food Packaging Material From Cellulose Nanoparticles and its Characterization

The utilization of agro-industrial wastes such as sugarcane bagasse (SCB) as a source of cellulose has influenced a wide range of interest in various applications such as food packaging, drug delivery, paper production, etc. Owing to the rich source of cellulose in SCB, the nanoparticle was prepared efficiently. The pure form of cellulose was isolated from SCB by eliminating the remaining components such as hemicellulose and lignin by treating SCB with a soluble base and a bleaching agent. Cellulose nanoparticles were synthesized from the purified cellulose by acid hydrolysis using H2SO4 followed by dialysis to remove sulfate ions and attain neutrality. The obtained nanoparticles were characterized using FTIR spectroscopy that helped to confirm the exclusion of lignin and hemicellulose. The crystalline nature of the cellulose nanoparticles (CNPs) was confirmed using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The morphology of CNPs was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the particle size of CNPs was found to be 189 nm by particle size analysis (PSA). Further, this study proved the nanomaterial preparation from agro-wastes can be utilized to develop food packaging film in food industries.