Demonstrates improved shelf life of bananas with chitosan-titania coatings, suggesting effective food preservation methods.
Antimicrobial activity is critical in preventing food contamination. In this study, chitosan (CH) films were developed by incorporating green tea–templated TiO2 nanoparticles (nano-TiO2) at different concentrations (3%–9% w/w) using the solvent casting method. The films were characterized for thermal stability, morphology, biodegradability, mechanical strength, barrier properties, and antimicrobial performance. Compared to pure CH films, nano-TiO2 incorporation increased tensile strength from 9.12 to 15.15 MPa, while reducing water vapor transmission rate from 350 to 155 g/m2/d and oxygen transmission rate from 1809 to 1510 cc/m2/d. The films showed enhanced in vitro antimicrobial activity, with inhibition zones increasing from 21 to 25 mm against S. aureus and from 19 to 23 mm against E. coli. Due to their denser structure, CH–nano-TiO2 films showed only 30%–40% biodegradation within one month compared to 100% for pure CH films. The 6% (w/w) nano-TiO2 loading gave the best balance of properties. Banana coatings reduced microbial load after 7 days, with CFU values ranging from 302 to 25 CFU/mL across dilutions compared to control. This coating extended shelf life up to 7 days, showing delayed color and texture changes. These results demonstrate strong potential of CH–nano-TiO2 films as sustainable antimicrobial packaging materials.
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Indumathi et al. (2026) studied this question.
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