Structural and physico-mechanical properties of potato starch-olive oil edible films reinforced with zein nanoparticles.

In this study, bio-composite films were developed by casting film-forming emulsions based on potato starch-glycerol-olive oil containing dispersed zein nanoparticles (ZNP). This paper studied the effect of the combined use of olive oil and different concentrations of zein nanoparticles on the structural and physico-mechanical properties of plasticized potato starch films. The water vapor permeability decreased with oil addition. Barrier properties were further improved with increasing ZNP content. It was discovered that the tensile strength increased as the ZNP content increased, but decreased with incorporation of the oil. Contact angle increased with ZNP and olive oil addition. Apparent color and UV transmittance of potato starch-glycerol film were impressed with the use of ZNP and olive oil. The microstructure and morphologies of films were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Dynamic mechanical thermal test revealed that the storage modulus decreased with incorporation of olive oil, however was improved by increasing nanoparticles content.