Nanoparticle-based Food Preservation Solution

Nanoparticles have been widely used as a food material. Aprofood deeply explores the field of food nanomaterials and is committed to providing global customers with comprehensive food preservation solutions based on nanoparticle.

Overview of Nanoparticles

Nanomaterials have various functional properties due to their physical, chemical and biological characteristics. Among them, various nanoparticles (NPs) have been widely studied in the food field. For example, metal, alloy and oxide nanoparticles have attracted people's attention due to their antibacterial and antioxidant properties. The most typical example is that AgNPs can have a significant impact on the morphology, physiology and biochemistry of microorganisms according to the size, characteristics and concentration of the nanoparticles used, so they are often used for food antibacterial preservation.

Fig. 1 Food nanoparticles vary in particle characteristics, such as dimensions, morphology, composition, aggregation state, and charge. (McClements & Xiao, 2017)

Classification of Nanoparticles

Inorganic nanoparticles used in food are mainly composed of inorganic materials, such as iron oxide, titanium dioxide or silicon dioxide. These particles can be crystalline or amorphous solids at room temperature, spherical or non-spherical, with different surface characteristics, and different sizes due to the initial materials used in the manufacturing process and preparation conditions. Inorganic nanoparticles have different dissolution tendencies and chemical reactivity under different solution conditions (such as pH and ionic strength).

Organic nanoparticles are mainly composed of organic substances, such as lipids, proteins, and/or carbohydrates. These substances are often liquid, semi-solid (gel) or solid (crystalline or amorphous) at ambient temperature, depending on their composition and processing conditions. Organic nanoparticles commonly used in most foods are spherical, but in some cases, they may be non-spherical.

Applications of Nanoparticle in Food Preservation

The preparation of smart food packaging using metal oxide NPs as coating or incorporated in a biodegradable polymer and its application in the inhibition of microorganisms, UV light protection, barrier, oxygen and ethylene scavenging and sensing (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2 Application of Nanoparticles. (Nikolic, et al., 2021)

Our Nanoparticle-based Food Preservation Solutions

Aprofood has been committed to the research of food nanomaterials for a long time. With rich experience and professional knowledge, it can provide global customers with comprehensive food preservation solutions based on nanoparticle.

• We can develop composite nanoparticles with different functional components according to the properties of different nanomaterials. The materials and functional components we can provide include but are not limited to:

  Nanoparticle Type	Inorganic nanoparticles: Silver nanoparticle, ZnO nanoparticle, Fe2O3 nanoparticle, TiO2 nanoparticle, SiO2 nanoparticle, etc. Organic nanoparticles: Lipid nanoparticles, Protein nanoparticles, Carbohydrate nanoparticles, Complex nanoparticles (Multi organic composition).
  Antibacterials	Essential oils: Limonene, α-Pincene, P-cymene, Sabinene, γ-Terpinene and β-Carbohyllene; Citronellal, Thymol, Carvone, Carvacrol, Bomeol, Linalool; Cinnamaldehyde, eugenol and vanillin; Allyl-isothiocyanate and Allicin, etc. Antimicrobial peptides: Nisin, Pediocin, Lysostaphin, Plantarisin S, etc. Organic acids: Acetates, diacetates, dehydroacetic acid, lactic acid and lactates, etc.
  Antioxidants	BHT, EDTA, BHA, BHT, PG, TBHQ, α-Tocopherol, Green tea extract, Citric acid, Banana peels extract, Sophora japonica extract, Apricot kernel skin, etc.

• We can also characterize the properties of nanoparticles and verify the functional nanoparticles, including but not limited to: the composition, particle size, interface characteristics, aggregation state, anti-oxidation and antibacterial properties of nanoparticles.

Our Advantages

Aprofood is committed to providing extensive support to customers around the world in food preservation related research, please contact us to learn more about our solutions for nanoparticle.

References

1. McClements, D. J., & Xiao, H. (2017). Is nano safe in foods? Establishing the factors impacting the gastrointestinal fate and toxicity of organic and inorganic food-grade nanoparticles. Npj Science of Food, 1(1): 6.
2. Nikolic, M. V., Vasiljevic, Z. Z., Auger, S., & Vidic, J. (2021). Metal oxide nanoparticles for safe active and intelligent food packaging. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 116, 655–668.