Reinforcement of chitosan/ polyvinyl alcohol film by quercetin self-assembled nanocrystals for fresh meat preservation

[en] The development of sustainable and functional food packaging is essential for mitigating food waste. In this study, quercetin nanocrystals (QNs) are synthesized and utilized to improve functionality of chitosan/ polyvinyl alcohol (PC) films. Molecular dynamics simulations and experimental characterizations reveal that the self- assembly of QNs is primarily driven by supramolecular interactions. QNs exhibit good compatibility with PC f ilms, acting both as a nanofiller to improve mechanical properties (tensile strength of 49.68 MPa and elongation at break of 176.02 %) and as an active agent to impart antioxidant properties (fourfold increase compared to plain PC film). Additionally, QNs enhance the thermal stability, UV-blocking capability, and water vapor barrier properties of the PC films. More importantly, the QNs-reinforced PC films significantly extend the shelf life of fresh meat to 11 days. This work provides an effective strategy for fabricating eco-friendly and functional food packaging materials, demonstrating great potential for application in food preservation.

Disciplines :

Food science
Chemistry

Author, co-author :

Fan, Simin ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre

Wang, Wenxin ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Centres attachés à la Faculté (Sciences) > Centre d'études et de recherches sur les macromolécules (CERM)

Yang, Qingfeng

Zhu, Chaoqiao

Tian, Ming

Richel, Aurore ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Chemistry for Sustainable Food and Environmental Systems (CSFES)

Fauconnier, Marie-Laure ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Chemistry for Sustainable Food and Environmental Systems (CSFES)

Hou, Chengli

Zhang, Dequan

Language :

English

Title :

Reinforcement of chitosan/ polyvinyl alcohol film by quercetin self-assembled nanocrystals for fresh meat preservation

Publication date :

November 2025

Journal title :

Food Chemistry

ISSN :

0308-8146

eISSN :

1873-7072

Publisher :

Elsevier

Volume :

493

Pages :

145826

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

https://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0308814625030778?httpAccept=text/xml

Funders :

CSC - China Scholarship Council

Funding text :

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2024YFD2101600), and the Program of China Scholarship Council (No. 202303250065). We appreciated Phadcalc (www. phadcalc.com) for the molecular dynamics simulation.

Available on ORBi :

since 07 September 2025

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