Dados do Trabalho

Título

STARCH-BASED BIOMATERIAL FOR FOOD PACKAGING: PRODUCTION PARAMETERS AND CONDITIONS

Introdução

Starch is a polymer widely used in biopolymeric materials such as hydrogels, which serve as precursors for producing sponge-like structures after drying. These materials, characterized by low density and high porosity, find applications in food packaging, particularly in the absorption of exudates, in foods that have high water activity. Several factors in the production process significantly influence their properties. Thus, our study aimed to verify the effect of process temperature (PT), homogenization speed (HS), and freezing and thawing cycles (FTC) on the properties of these freeze-dried biomaterials.

Material e Métodos

Corn starch (30.2% amylose, w/v in distilled water) was used to produce these biomaterials, varying the following process parameters: PT (90 or 120 ºC), HS (11,000 or 20,000 rpm), and FTC (3, 5, or 7 cycles). After hydrogel production, the materials were freeze-dried and evaluated for density, porosity, water absorption capacity, syneresis, hardness, springiness, and cohesion. Statistical analyses included Multivariate Analysis of Variance and Duncan's post-hoc test (p≤0.05). Principal Component Analysis and Factor Analysis were also applied after autoscaling the dataset

Resultados e Discussão

The results indicated the following ranges for the measured properties: density (0.11-0.13 cm³), porosity (74-80%), water absorption capacity (783-959%), syneresis (179-359%), hardness (541-877 g), springiness (0.88-0.94 a.u.), and cohesion (0.41-0.59 a.u.). Through the vector analysis, it was possible to infer that HS was the main factor influencing the properties of the biomaterials, notably affecting water absorption capacity, syneresis, springiness, and cohesion. The FTC variable demonstrated similar behavior in relation to these variables but with less significance. On the other hand, the PT of starch mainly influenced the hardness and porosity of the materials.

Conclusão

In general, concerning hardness and cohesion, the use of 11,000 rpm HS and 90 ºC PT resulted in stiffer materials, ideal for withstanding mechanical damage. However, the combination of 120 ºC PT, 11,000 rpm HS, and 7 freeze-thaw cycles provided materials with higher water absorption capacity and lower syneresis, making them suitable for applications requiring high water absorption and minimal water release. Therefore, the choice of production parameters for this corn starch-based biomaterial depends on the intended purpose and desired properties.