Green cross-linking of gelatin/tea polyphenol/ε-poly (L-lysine) electrospun nanofibrous membrane for edible and bioactive food packaging

Cross-linking electrospinning

“…Additionally, an antioxidant agent (tea polyphenol, TP, having the ability to scavenge free radicals) and an antibacterial agent [ε-poly( l -lysine), ε-PL, having the ability to destroy bacterial cell membranes] could be simultaneously encapsulated in cross-linked e-spun nanofibers to achieve bioactive food packaging. 156 The prepared gelatin nanofibers with 0.5 wt% TP and 0.5 wt% ε-PL exhibited 91.4% antibacterial activity and >93% radical scavenging activity.…”

“…Lan et al employed dehydrothermal treatment to prepare gelatin/tea polyphenol (TP)/ε-poly( l -lysine) (ε-PL) fibers with improved water resistance, in which TP worked as an antioxidant agent and ε-PL acted as an antibacterial agent. 156 Among the numerous cross-linking methods for gelatin, dehydrothermal treatment is environmentally friendly (no chemical reagents required), low cost (only heating devices), and efficient (compared to plasma cross-linking). The cross-linking of the e-spun fiber membrane could be achieved simply by placing it in an oven at 140 °C for 2 h. After treatment, the water contact angle of the pure gelatin fiber membrane (composite fiber membrane) increased significantly from 16.6° to 75.7° (17.2° to 67.2°), 156 indicating successful cross-linking.…”

“…156 Among the numerous cross-linking methods for gelatin, dehydrothermal treatment is environmentally friendly (no chemical reagents required), low cost (only heating devices), and efficient (compared to plasma cross-linking). The cross-linking of the e-spun fiber membrane could be achieved simply by placing it in an oven at 140 °C for 2 h. After treatment, the water contact angle of the pure gelatin fiber membrane (composite fiber membrane) increased significantly from 16.6° to 75.7° (17.2° to 67.2°), 156 indicating successful cross-linking. In dehydrothermal treatment, a large number of hydrophilic groups in the polymer, such as –COOH and –NH 2 , reacts and consumed, further leading to the formation of molecular chain networks.…”