Self‐Assembled Carbohydrate Polymers for Food Applications: A Review

Abstract

The self‐assembled natural and synthetic polymers are booming. However, natural polymers obtained from native or modified carbohydrate polymers (CPs), such as celluloses, chitosan, glucans, gums, pectins, and starches, have had special attention as raw material in the manufacture of self‐assembled polymer composite materials having several forms: films, hydrogels, micelles, and particles. The easy manipulation of the architecture of the CPs, as well as their high availability in nature, low cost, and being sustainable and green polymers have been the main positive points in the use of them for different applications. CPs have been used as building blocks for composite structures, and their easy orientation and ordering has given rise to self‐assembled CPs (SCPs). These macromolecules have been little studied for food applications. Nonetheless, their research has grown mainly in the last 5 years as encapsulated food additive wall materials, food coatings, and edible films. The multifaceted properties (systems sensitive to pH, temperature, ionic strength, types of ions, mechanical force, and enzymes) of these devices are leading to the development of advanced food materials. This review article focused on the analysis of SCPs for food applications in order to encourage other research groups for their preparation and implementation.

Metal‐Based Nanomaterials in Biomedical Applications: Antimicrobial Activity and Cytotoxicity Aspects

“…Zinc oxide nanostructures have been utilized as antibacterial agents in the food industry against food pathogens and as additives for active or smart packaging. [ 180,201,202 ] These entities have also been used in tissue regeneration and restorative dentistry to impart antimicrobial activity and enhance mechanical properties. [ 203–205 ]…”

Impact of Olive Extract Addition on Corn Starch-Based Active Edible Films Properties for Food Packaging Applications

“…In particular, polysaccharides extracted from Aloe Vera, Aloe Arborescens, the mucilage of Opuntia Ficus and other sources have been used to produce edible biopolymer matrices with potential to extend food shelf-life [6][7][8][9]. Among them, starch is one of the most interesting biodegradable polysaccharides for food packaging because of its high availability, low cost and it being a natural origin of polymer materials with great ability to form transparent films without color and odor and its low oxygen permeability [10,11]. Starch comes from cereals such as corn and rice, legumes and tubers.…”

Self-assembled proteins for food applications: A review

“…Films and coatings are thin layers based on continuous polymeric materials with a thickness of less than 0.3 mm. These materials are used as a barrier against chemical microbiological and physical contaminants, as well as to reduce carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), oxygen (O 2 ) and water vapor, and moisture transfer in fruits and vegetables (Valencia, Zare, et al, 2019). In recent years, due to the negative impact of non-biodegradable integrity (Gómez-Estaca et al, 2016).…”

“…As described above, protein-based coatings are used as a barrier between the food and the environment, while maintaining the food safety and quality (Fritz, Fonseca, Trevisol, Fagundes, & Valencia, 2019;Valencia, Zare, et al, 2019). Some studies have reported the self-assembly of protein-based coatings with better surface and barrier properties or even with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties.…”

“…Self-assembly of proteins can be induced by means of reversible or non-reversible aggregation of protein segments driven by chemical reactions or non-covalent interactions, such as hydrogen (H) bonding, van der Waals forces, π-π stacking, as well as host-guest and hydrophobic interactions (Valencia, Zare, Makvandi, & Gutiérrez, 2019). The architectures formed could have several forms which can vary from nanometric to micrometric size (Anema, 2018;McManus, Charbonneau, Zaccarelli, & Asherie, 2016).…”