Revisión: Fibroína de seda y sus potenciales aplicaciones en empaques biodegradables para alimentos/Review: silk fibroin and their potential applications on biodegradable food packaging

Abstract

RESUMENEl cuidado del medioambiente y el uso responsable de los recursos, ha promovido investigaciones con diferentes biopolímeros que permitan el desarrollo de nuevos materiales que puedan ser empleados en empaques para alimentos. Entre estos biopolímeros se encuentra la fibroína de seda (FS), que representa cerca del 70% de la fibra de seda y puede ser obtenida a partir de capullos de primera calidad o de los desperdicios generados en la producción serícola. En el desarrollo de empaques de alimentos con FS, se pueden dar dos alternativas de producción, una en la que la FS puede ser funcionalizada por otros componentes, y otra en la que se incluye la FS como componente funcional modificando otros biopolímeros. La FS puede conferirle al material de empaque ciertas propiedades, como: aumento de la permeabilidad de oxígeno, resistencia a la rotura y una mayor velocidad de degradación del biopolímero. Este artículo se centra en cuatro temas principales: empaques, biopolímeros en empaques, FS y finalmente, la FS en empaques para alimentos.Palabras clave: Empaques, Materiales poliméricos, Biopolímeros, Fibroína de seda, Biomateriales. ABSTRACTEnvironmental protection and responsible use of resources, have promoted research of different biopolymers allowing to develop biodegradable materials which can be used in food packaging. Among these biopolymers is silk fibroin (SF), this protein represents nearly 70% of the silk fiber and it can be obtained from high quality cocoons or from waste generated in the silk industry. In the development of food packaging with SF, there are two possible alternative of production, one in what the SF can be functionalized by other components and another in which, the FS is included as functional component modifying other biopolymers. In the case of food packaging, the SF can concede desirable properties to the package such as an increase in oxygen permeability, more tensile strength and a higher biopolymer degradation rate. This paper is focused on four main topics: packaging, biopolymers in packaging, SF and finally, the SF in food packaging.

Cyclodextrins in Polymer-Based Active Food Packaging: A Fresh Look at Nontoxic, Biodegradable, and Sustainable Technology Trends

“…Furthermore, nanofibers based on the association of natural/synthetic polymers and natural essential oils, synthetic antimicrobial components, or nanomaterials seem to be a highly promising route for the fabrication of active packaging [ 67 , 68 ]. Moreover, nanocellulose and biopolymeric silk fibroin nanoparticles (SFNPs) have great potential for the development of innovative food packaging [ 57 , 133 , 148 ]. SFNPs are particularly interesting due to their unique combination of intrinsic mechanical and biological properties such as biocompatibility and biodegradability [ 149 , 150 ].…”

“…However, in order to fulfill the physical properties required for packaging, starch must be plasticized, that is, subjected to a process that deconstructs the granules, which often results in brittle film materials when dehydrated [ 56 ]. The most common polymers used in food packaging applications are summarized in Table 2 [ 39 , 48 , 57 ]. Table 3 summarizes the oxygen/moisture barrier properties of the polymers most frequently used in the active food packaging industry [ 58 ].…”

Natural Coatings and Surface Modifications on Magnesium Alloys for Biomedical Applications

“…The crystal structure of SF can take different forms because it has three types of polymorphisms [ 119 ], which are the glandular state (silk I); the spun silk state, which consists of the β-sheet secondary structure (silk II); and an air/water assembled interfacial silk (silk III, with a helical structure) [ 120 ]. The dominance of the β-sheet formation regimes within the fibroin structure confers high mechanical strength and toughness to protein-based materials [ 115 ].…”

Electrospun silk fibroin using aqueous and formic acid solutions

“…SF is versatile polymer due to the different forms it can be manufactured, such as powder, gels, films, foams, and nanofibers, making it useful on several applications [4]. This versatility combined with its outstanding properties such as biocompatibility, permeability, thermal stability, and degradation, makes the SF a promising material for different applications [5][6][7] such as textiles [8][9][10], food packaging [11], wound dressings [12], filtration media [13], and medical materials [4,14,15]. Several techniques are used to transform the SF into different forms for its final application.…”