DEVELOPMENT OF CARBOXYMETHYL CELLULOSE (CMC) BASED FILMS INCORPORATED WITH CURCUMIN AND TIO2 FOR POTENTIAL APPLICATION IN PACKAGING

Abstract

Plastic pollution is one of the most controversial issues of this decade. More than half of the pollution can be credited to single-use plastic packaging. This has led to rising in involvement for deriving sustainable and efficient packaging solutions. The development of biodegradable packaging material which serves multiple functions is still an unsolved puzzle. Thus, an ideal food packaging material needs to be from sustainable resources, have lesser harmful environmental impact, and possibly serve as intelligent packaging. In this study, CMC-based film with the addition of Potato Peel Powder (PPP), Curcumin, and Titanium dioxide was prepared by casting solution method. Physical characteristics were studied including thickness, opacity, and color change in response to varied pH, moisture content, TGA analysis, and water solubility. Functional characteristics such as antioxidant activity, photo catalytic ability and antibacterial activity were also looked upon. The addition of PPP, Curcumin and TiO2 showed improvement in moisture content, opacity, swelling index and water solubility presence of TiO2 enhanced the antioxidant property of film and also films with TiO2 indicated better antibacterial properties. Photo catalytic activity and Food model study points towards potential application of film as ethylene scavenger and moisture scavenger.Soil burial test performed to test biodegradability indicated the films were biodegradable. Thus, overall results prove the capability of film for potential packaging application.