The influence of novel nano membranes on the quality characterizes of cucumber fruits during storage was evaluated. Chitosan (C), Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (T), and sodium tripolyphosphate (S) were used for the synthesis of novel nano membranes. Samples were divided into four lots.
One lot was coated with water; another with C-Film, another with C/T-Film, and the fourth lot with C/T/S-Film. All the samples were dried with forced air at 25 °C for 1 h. Samples were stored in plastic trays for 21 days and evaluated every 7 days (0, 7, 14, and 21 days) at 10 °C.
Quality characterizes included texture-profile analysis, pitting and warts appearances rates, acidity, pyruvate enzyme oxidation, and microbial population, especially psychrophilic bacteria. Results revealed that the C/T-Film treated cucumber samples showed the lowest values loss in
almost all the texture analysis, gumminess (N) 441.79, resilience 0.035, hardness (N) 1145.02, and cohesiveness 0.19, compared to other coating treatments; while cucumber samples treated with (C/T/S-Film) established the lowest values loss in chewiness (N) 231.41. Cucumber samples treated
with C/T/S-Film showed the lower value of pitting and appearance rates 0.67 and 0.21, respectively. For cucumber samples treated with C/T-Film and C/T/S-Film reported the same acidity values as 4.63 at the end of the storage period. The pyruvate enzyme oxidation was higher (187.53 n mol/kg
FW) in cucumber fruits treated with C/T/S-Film, compared with cucumber treated with C/T-Film that recorded value of 166.09 n mol/kg FW. After 21 days of the storage period, C/T/S-Film-coated samples had the least psychrophilic bacterial counts 7.03 Log CFU/g, lower than C/T-Film-coated
samples 7.6 Log CFU/g. So, in the current work novel nano membranes, consisting of chitosan, titanium dioxide nanoparticles, and sodium tripolyphosphate were effective to extend the shelf-life of cucumbers until 21 days during storage.
