Engineering Biodegradable Sodium Alginate Films with Dragon Fruit Peel Powder and MgO Nanoparticles.

Prajapati, Rushikesh A.; Jadeja, Girirajsinh C.

This study investigated the effect of the addition of dragon fruit peel powder (DFP) and MgO nanoparticles on sodium alginate (SA) films. The control film (S1 film), DFP-enriched (S2 film), MgO nanoparticles-enhanced (S3 film), and a film combining both MgO nanoparticles and DFP (S4 film) were evaluated. The tensile strength increased by 252.43, 290.27, and 645.13% for the S2, S3 and S4 films, respectively. These enhancements were accompanied by a marked improvement in the UV-blocking property, thermal stability, antioxidant activity,2,2′-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) radical scavenging activity, opacity and thickness. The water vapor permeability and transparency were decreased to 3.45 × 10−10 g−1 Pa−1 S−1 and 1.82% for the S4 film. An environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) study revealed a notable increase in surface roughness with the incorporation of DFP. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicated that the MgO nanoparticles possessed a crystallographic structure that was compatible with the SA film matrix, with the S4 films exhibiting the highest crystallinity index (28.92%). The overall migration study showed that all SA films complied with the overall migration limit of 60 mg/kg of simulant for fatty food simulants. The biodegradability test revealed complete degradation of the S1, S3, and S4 films before 20 days while the S2 film exhibited a substantial mass loss of 84.99% within the same 20-day timeframe.

PITAHAYAS; SODIUM alginate; SCANNING electron microscopes; PACKAGING film; ANTIOXIDANTS

Journal of Macromolecular Science: Physics, 2025, Vol 64, Issue 1, p21

0022-2348

Academic Journal

10.1080/00222348.2024.2333625