Physical properties of active biopolymer films based on chitosan, sodium caseinate, and rosemary essential oil

To develop an active biopolymer film based on chitosan, sodium caseinate, and rosemary essential oil (REO), the objective of this work was to investigate the effect of REO on the structure and physical properties of biopolymer films. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was conducted for fingerprinting to identify the REO addition. The thermal behaviour of each film was investigated using a thermogravimetric analysis. Furthermore, the optical properties, surface hydrophobicity, solubility, mechanical properties, and water vapour permeability were investigated. The results showed that the presence of REO changes the structural organisation of the blended sodium caseinate and chitosan film, thereby inducing an increase in the surface hydrophilicity of the film. However, the solubility and water vapour permeability of the film were not affected by the structural modification induced by REO. Moreover, a mild effect of the REO on the mechanical properties of the sodium caseinate/chitosan film was observed. A thermal analysis confirmed that the incorporation of REO did not influence the degradation temperature of the films. Overall this studying has demonstrated that caseinate/chitosan film enriched in REO, related to his thermal and chemico physical properties can be applied for food packaging application.