Antibiotic resistance of microorganisms is one of the major problems faced in the field of wound care and management resulting in complications like infection and delayed wound healing. Currently a lot of research is focused on developing newer antimicrobials to treat wounds infected with antibiotic resistant microorganisms. Silver has been used as an antimicrobial agent for a long time in the form of metallic silver and silver sulfadiazine ointments. Recently silver nanoparticles have come up as a potent antimicrobial agent and are finding diverse medical applications ranging from silver based dressings to silver coated medical devices. Chitin is a natural biopolymer with properties like biocompatibility and biodegradability. It is widely used as a scaffold for tissue engineering applications. In this work, we developed and characterized novel chitin/nanosilver composite scaffolds for wound healing applications. The antibacterial, blood clotting and cytotoxicity of the prepared composite scaffolds were also studied. These chitin/nanosilver composite scaffolds were found to be bactericidal against S. aureus and E. coli and good blood clotting ability. These results suggested that these chitin/nanosilver composite scaffolds could be used for wound healing applications.

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Polymer‐coated tin‐free steel cans were evaluated for their suitability for canning and storage of ready‐to‐eat fish products. The cans were found to withstand the thermal processing conditions and suitable for food contact application. The overlap was 63%, which was well above the prescribed limit of 45%. Blanched shrimps were used for preparing three different styles of shrimp curry from which one was selected based on sensory evaluation. Shrimp curry prepared according to the standard recipe was processed to three different F0values of 6, 7 and 8 at 121C in polymer‐coated tin‐free steel cans. The thermal history during heating and cooling was collected using a data recorder. Raw, blanched and processed shrimp was subjected to analysis of color, texture and shear force by using instrumental methods. Analysis of the Commission Internationale d' Eclirage L*, a*and b*color values showed that the duration of exposure to heat treatment influenced the color parameters: the lightness (L*) and yellowness (b*) decreased, and the redness (a*) increased with increase in heating time. Upon blanching, the instrumental texture and shear values increased and then reduced on thermal processing with the increase in the duration of exposure. Shrimp curry processed at different F0values was subjected to sensory evaluation and samples processed at F07 were judged superior with regard to various sensory attributes evaluated. Based on the manual and instrumental sensory evaluation, the optimum process parameters for the ready‐to‐serve shrimp curry were standardized. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The global demand for seafoods is increasing because of their high nutritive value and health benefits. Nowadays people prefer ready‐to‐serve products from fish and shellfish which can be stored for longer periods without refrigeration and preservatives. Thermally processed products meet these requirements. Conventional containers for canned products such as tin and aluminum have several disadvantages. Tin‐free steel cans (TFS) have many advantages, such as easy‐open ends, good coating performance, universal lacquer and aesthetic appearance. Tin‐free steel cans were also found to be suitable for processing many varieties of fish products. This article describes the standardization of process parameters for the preparation of ready‐to‐serve shrimp curry in tin‐free steel cans, which were microbiologically safe and acceptable with regard to various quality attributes. The standardized process can be modified and adopted by the fish processing industry to market similar ready‐to‐serve products in both domestic and export markets.

Indian mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta) was processed in brine in indigenous polymer‐coated tin‐free steel cans to a common lethality value of 8 min at three different retort temperatures, namely 115, 121 and 130C. All the three batches were found to be commercially sterile upon testing using sodium thioglycollate broth. The heat penetration parameters were found to be significantly influenced by the retort temperature. The lag factor of heating (jh value) decreased, whereas the lag factor of cooling (jc value) increased with increase of retort temperature (P < 0.05). The heating rate index (fh value) showed a decreasing trend with increase of retort temperature. The total process time (TPT) taken to attain the targeted lethality decreased with increase in retort temperature. At 115, 121 and 130C, the targeted lethality value could be attained in 60, 33 and 15 min, respectively. Thermal processing mackerel at 121 and 130C helped in reducing the TPT by 45 and 75% as compared to those processed at 115C. Cook value (CV) maintained an inverse relationship with retort temperature. At 121 and 130C, the CV recorded was 36 and 55% lower than at 115C. CV to F0value ratios at 115, 121 and 130C were 15.25, 9.75 and 6.88, respectively. Mackerel samples processed at three retort temperatures were analyzed for their sensory qualities employing subjective and objective methods. Statistical analysis indicated the significance of retort temperature on the color and texture profile attributes, and the sensoryqualities of mackerel (P < 0.05). Analysis of Commission Internationale d’Eclairage lab values show that the L*value increased, while the a*value decreased with increase of retort temperature. The b*value did not show much difference with retort temperature. Instrumental analysis of texture showed that texture profile attributes and Warner–Bratzler shear force of mackerel muscle reduced with precooking and subsequent thermal processing. Among the thermally processed samples, better textural attributes were associated with samples processed at higher temperature. Sensory analysis revealed that all the sensory attributes except flavor are significantly affected by the retort temperature (P < 0.05). PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS This work describes the effect of three different retort temperatures on heat penetration characteristics, instrumental color, texture and sensory attributes of mackerel canned in brine to a common lethality value. The study indicates that processing at higher temperature helps in reducing the duration of exposure of the product to heat treatment, which ultimately yielded a product with better color, texture and sensory attributes in comparison to products processed at lower temperatures. The reduction in processing time has its implications on the economics of production in case of commercial operation.

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