Nanoparticles of ZnO and their application in coating systems have attracted a great deal of attention in recent years because of its multifunction property, especially antibacterial activity. In this study, antibacterial and physical properties of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) based film coated with ZnO nanoparticles were investigated. It was found that the antibacterial action should be attributed to the killing effect property of ZnO nanoparticles. The ZnO-coated films treated by shaking for 10 h exhibited a similar high antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus as the untreated ZnO-coated films. This result indicated that the ZnO nanoparticles adhered very well to the plastic film. The antibacterial activity of the ZnO-coated film to inactivate E. coli or S. aureus was improved by UV irradiation. The analysis of physical properties of the ZnO-coated films revealed that the nano-ZnO particles showed less effects on the tensile strength and elongation at break of the film. The ultraviolet (UV) light fastness of the ZnO-coated PVC film was improved, which may be attributed to the absorption of ZnO nanoparticles against UV light. Water vapor transmission of the ZnO-coated film decreased from 128 to 85 g/m(2) · 24 h, whereas the thickness of film increased from 6.0 μm with increasing the amount of nano-ZnO particles coated from 0 to 187.5 μg/cm(2). This research revealed that the PVC film coated with nano-ZnO particles has a good potential to be used as an active coating system for food packaging.

The effects of a novel nano-ZnO coated PVC film on physicochemical quality and microbiological changes of fresh-cut ‘Fuji’ apple were evaluated. Fruit decay were efficiently reduced in nano-packing samples. The content of ascorbic acid and total phenolic dropped to 0.2 g•kg-1, 1.2 g•kg-1 in nano-packing samples and 0.02 g•kg-1, 0.6 g•kg-1 in control on day 12. In addition, the nano-ZnO coated PVC film not only inhibited the growth of total aerobic psychrophilic microorganisms, the count of which did not exceed 5 log cfu g−1 FW, but also suppressed the increasing of yeast and mould, the maximum growth of which reached only 3.6 log cfu g−1 in the nano-packing but 6 log cfu g−1 in control.

In this study, we investigated antibacterial activity of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles coated on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) films against Escherichia. coli both in vitro and in actual test. Results showed that the nano-ZnO coated films displayed excellent inhibition effects on the growth of E. coli and the nano-ZnO particular was contributed to the bactericidal ability. The more amounts of the ZnO particulars the film coated, the greater inhibitory effect it exhibited. The disinfection efficiency with ZnO film is relatively constant at pH values in the range of 4.5 to 8.0. In the actual test, the number of E. coli cells from cut apple stored in a ZnO-coated bag in the dark decreased from 8.72 to 6.3 log CFU/ml after 1 day, while that of an same bag irradiated with light decreased from 8.72 to 3.5 log CFU/ml after 2 days of storage. The results reveal that nano-ZnO coated film has a good promise to make antimicrobial packaging again E. coli and reduce the risks of microbial growth on fresh-cut produce.

In this investigation, antibacterial property of microencapsulated cinnamon oil was investigated. Microencapsulated cinnamon oil was prepared by simple coacervation. Microencapsulated cinnamon oil exhibited good antimicrobial activities.Moreover, the effect of microencapsulated cinnamon oil on the quality of cherry tomato was investigated. Result showed microencapsulated cinnamon oil could reduced fruit decay and keep the quality of cherry tomato.

In order to explore green and efficient methods for the synthesis of nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were rapidly synthesized assisted by the Monascus pigments under simulated sunlight. Prepared AgNPs were characterized using various analytical tools such as ultraviolet‐visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy, Zeta, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM)–energy dispersive X‐ray (EDX), and Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR). There is an absorption peak at 410 nm in the UV–Vis absorption spectrum, which confirms the formation of AgNPs. XRD results affirmed that the synthesized AgNPs were crystalline in nature and preferentially oriented in (111) plane. The morphology of the nanoparticles was found to be spherical by SEM and particle size analysis study revealed the average particle size to be 18.10 ± 0.30 nm. Zeta potential measurement showed excellent stability of AgNPs with negative values of −9.2 ± 0.66 mV. The FT‐IR study represented involvement of functional groups in AgNPs synthesis. The biosynthesized AgNPs exhibited significant antibacterial activity with zones of inhibition of 9.1, 14.5, and 18.0 mm against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. Through the determination of hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity, ABTS radical scavenging capacity, total reducing power, and total antioxidant capacity, it is proved that the AgNPs have certain antioxidant capacity. In addition, AgNPs could catalyze the degradation of methylene blue, methyl orange, and congo red with a pseudo first‐order rate constants of 0.07998, 0.24666, and 0.11805 min−1, respectively. Overall studies indicated that the Monascus pigments could be used to prepare AgNPs with potential antibacterial, antioxidant, and extraordinary catalytic activity. It can be used in biomedical applications, commercial food packaging, pathogen mitigation, and industrial waste water management.

In this investigation, antibacterial property of active packaging of microencapsulated cinnamon oil combined with ZnO-coated PVC film was investigated. Microencapsulated cinnamon oil was prepared by simple coacervation and the morphology of microencapsulation was also analyzed by SEM. Result also showed that microencapsulated cinnamon oil and ZnO-coated PVC film exhibited good antibacterial activities against E. coli and S. aureus. In vivo fruit test, the active packaging of microencapsulated cinnamon oil combined with ZnO-coated PVC film showed good inhibition property the growth of bacteria on the surface of fresh-cut apple slices.

The high instability is one of the most important problems for cinnamon oil. The complexation of cinnamon oil by β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and its controlled release characteristics were investigated in this paper. The composition of microencapsulated cinnamon oil was evaluated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The size distribution and surface morphology of the resultant microcapsules were also characterized using Beckman Coulter particle size analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. And the size distribution is narrow and the mean diameter is 20.78 μm. Results demonstrated the rates of cinnamon oil released from microencapsulation were accelerated with the increase of RH.

The water-soluble sulphite was encapsulated using ethylcellulose phase separation. The effect of different process factors in the phase separation process on the encapsulation efficiency and the release profile of SO2 from the microparticles were evaluated. The results showed that the SO2 release from the microparticles containing sulphite was affected by the relative humidity in the microenvironment.