Multifunctional Composite Nanomaterial of in situ-Formed Silver Nanoparticles on Tannic Acid-Loaded Halloysite for Food Packaging Applications

Increasing the production and marketing of food will inevitably demand more packaging materials in the agri-food sector, which in turn will increase the contribution of this industry sector to plastic pollution. Developing biopolymer-based alternative packaging materials and strategies to improve the degradability of synthetic polymers are two major promising approaches to mitigate plastic pollution. Nanomaterials designed to achieve multifunctionality hold immense potential in realizing such goals. One such example is a nanocomposite (Nc) of tannic acid-loaded halloysite clay grafted with nanosilver. This material, when incorporated with soy protein isolate (SPI)—a biopolymer used as alternatives to synthetic polymers for developing food packaging films—improved the mechanical and barrier properties and exhibited antibacterial efficiency against pathogenic bacteria. Nc/SPI films resisted changes in pH, lipid oxidation, and microbial growth in packed chicken fillets, demonstrating their potential to improve the functional and mechanical properties of biopolymers. Further, we successfully demonstrated the applicability of this Nc to improve the mechanical and antimicrobial properties of synthetic plastic linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) film. More importantly, we demonstrated the possibility of degrading Nc/LLDPE films when exposed to light, highlighting the possibility of mitigating plastic pollution at the end of life of synthetic packaging films. In this talk, I will explain my research philosophy, and elaborate the above-mentioned studies as examples of nanotechnology enabling sustainability in the agri-food sector.