A biodegradable dual pH/humidity-responsive film: gelatin-poly(lipoic acid) loaded with thymol for enhanced fruit preservation.

Authors

Chuanlong Men, Chenchen Wu, Zhenhang Lu, Shengjie Gao, Peiyi Wang, Changhong Liu, Lei Zheng

Published in

Food research international (Ottawa, Ont.). Volume 242. Issue Pt 1. Pages 119865. Oct 31, 2026. Epub Jun 26, 2026.

Abstract

To mitigate postharvest fruit deterioration caused by oxidative browning and microbial spoilage, we developed an intelligent, eco-friendly thymol/gelatin-poly(lipoic acid) (TGP) composite film. The porous gelatin-poly(lipoic acid) (GP) matrix was fabricated by grafting gelatin (Gel) with poly(lipoic acid) (PLA) synthesized through ring-opening polymerization of lipoic acid (LA), achieving a grafting efficiency of 25.46%. Structural characterization via Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis validated the successful grafting and the formation of a porous architecture. Additionally, thymol (THY) was encapsulated within the GP matrix with an efficiency of 82.82%. Film performance tests demonstrated that the TGP composite film exhibited dose-dependent improvements in both functional properties (e.g., antioxidant and antibacterial activities) and physical characteristics (including barrier and mechanical performance), among which the TGP-0.9 film delivered the most outstanding overall performance. Notably, the release of THY was pH- and humidity-responsive, accelerating under slightly acidic and high-humidity conditions that simulated decaying fruit microenvironments. In preservation experiments, the TGP-0.9 film prolonged fruit freshness for at least 6 days. Collectively, this study presented a sustainable TGP composite film with dual functionality (preservation efficacy and environmental compatibility), offering a promising solution for postharvest fruit management.

PMID:
42629088
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 22 Aug 2026.

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