Encapsulation of a Volatile Biomolecule (Hexanal) in Cyclodextrin Metal–Organic Frameworks for Slow Release and Its Effect on Preservation of Mangoes

Abstract

The post-harvest losses in fruits and vegetables are huge across the world, and they are recognized as a global challenge to overcome. Hexanal is a gaseous biomolecule known to extend the shelf life of fruits and reduce post-harvest losses in perishables. In order to regulate the vaporization of hexanal, metal−organic frameworks (MOFs) were exploited, which served as an effective template to entrap the gaseous molecules. It is hypothesized that MOFs possess an extensive surface area that captures and retains hexanal for an extended time that enables the preservation of stored fruits. In this study, the MOFs were synthesized using vapor diffusion methods and characterized for their size, shape, structure, and functional groups. The same set of measurements was done before and after loading hexanal. The hexanal loading was confirmed, and the entrapment efficiency was estimated as 56%. After loading, the material was briquette into pellets using a pelletizer and the release pattern was studied over a while. The hexanal vapor release was extended up to 10 h, while pure hexanal gets completely vaporized within 2 h. Each pellet loaded with hexanal was affixed in fruit storage boxes. The results showed that mango fruits exposed to MOFs loaded with hexanal had extended shelf life up to 15 days, while control fruits got spoiled within 10 days. Our data suggest that the post-harvest losses can be reduced and the mango fruits can be preserved for 2 weeks by exposing them to pellets loaded with hexanal.

Design of Biodegradable, Climate-Specific Packaging Materials That Sense Food Spoilage and Extend Shelf Life

“…Fungal growth on legumes is also detrimental to food safety, as it may result in the production of mycotoxins, which are poisonous when eaten or inhaled. To design an antimicrobial food packaging, we leveraged COFs’ large surface area, abundant presence of nanopores, and strong affinity with VOCs to host large amounts of plant volatiles (hexanal), which are known to preserve fruits and have antimicrobial activity . The antimicrobial properties of hexanal are mainly due to its interaction with the microbial cytoplasmic membrane, causing increased membrane permeability and cell death .…”

“…To design an antimicrobial food packaging, we leveraged COFs' large surface area, abundant presence of nanopores, and strong affinity with VOCs to host large amounts of plant volatiles (hexanal), which are known to preserve fruits and have antimicrobial activity. 76 The antimicrobial properties of hexanal are mainly due to its interaction with the microbial cytoplasmic membrane, causing increased membrane permeability and cell death. 77 The encapsulated agents can be released from COFs, enabling SF-COF films to act as active packaging.…”

Review of different series of MOF/g-C3N4 composites for photocatalytic hydrogen production and CO2 reduction

“…The metal ions react with the dissolved ligand ions in the conductive medium to achieve coordination and generate MOF crystals. 72 The advantage of the electrochemical method is that it can be run continuously to obtain more products, and it is relatively simple and environmentally friendly.…”

Fast Dynamic Synthesis of MIL-68(In) Thin Films in High Optical Quality for Optical Cavity Sensing

“…MOF materials are used in a variety of different application fields, including gas separation, CO 2 capture, or resource-efficient chemical productions . The interest in these materials for life science and biomedical applications is rising: recent examples are magnetic resonance imaging, bio sensing as well as more exotic niches, such as fruit preserveration . While many of these applications are based on using bulk MOFs that are processed and formulated or highly dispersible nanoparticles, for certain advanced applications these forms of MOFs cannot be used.…”