Abstract
The demand for eco-friendly and natural food packaging materials has sparked considerable interest in the research and development of sustainable active packaging materials. In this study, a chitosan-based film was developed using glycerol as a plasticiser, chitooligosaccharide (COS) as an additive, and gallic acid as a cross-linking agent. The physical, barrier, mechanical, morphological, thermal, and functional properties of fabricated films were measured. The bio-composite film showed significantly lower moisture content (from 24.28 to 17.01%), water solubility (from 41.56% to 31.03%), water vapour permeability (14.63 to 9.79 × 10−9 gm−1s−1Pa−1), and light transmittance (from 63.67% to 21.71%) compared to neat chitosan film. Furthermore, the bio-composite film exhibited higher tensile strength (57.66 MPa) and elongation at break (88.76%), smooth microstructure, strong DPPH and ABTS radicals scavenging capacity, and good antimicrobial activity towards E. coli, L. innocua, and S. cerevisiae, and non-toxic to HaCaT cells indicating promising potential for use in sustainable active food packaging.
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•Chitosan films are generated using glycerol, chitooligosaccharides (COS), and gallic acid.•Film moisture, water solubility, and water vapour permeability are significantly reduced.•High mechanical and UV-barrier properties are exhibited in the developed film.•The COS and gallic acid-loaded films showed a strong DPPH and ABTS radicals scavenging capacity.•Antimicrobial activity towards E. coli, L. innocua, and S. cerevisiae is higher in bio-composite films.