Composite films consisting of whey protein isolate and chitosan and their properties

Abstract

Focus of this project is the bio-based and biodegradable food packaging materials, in the form of composite films. Especially, the aim of this study are the properties of bio-composites, based on whey protein isolate (WPI) and chitosan. Sustainable packaging, which is the food packaging with the best social, economic and environmental characteristics, should be the target of the people working in the sector of packaging materials. Thorough analysis of the three main nutritional classes of the sources for the production of bio-based food packaging materials are presented, i.e., polysaccharides with focus on chitosan, proteins with focus on whey protein isolate (WPI) and lipids. These materials have been attracted the interest of the scientists working in the food packaging sector, because of their excellent properties and future prospects. In the Materials & Methods section, the experimental procedures on moisture sorption, water vapor permeability tensile mechanical properties and rheological properties are described and the corresponding results are presented. In the Results and Discussion section, the results of the above experiments are discussed and are compared with the results of similar projects from the international literature. The Conclusions from this project are presented, as an integration of the properties of bio-composites and the experimental results obtained. Also, the Bibliography is given for every part of this project.