1. APPLICATIONS OF
NANOTECHNOLOGY IN FOOD
PROCESSING AND PACKING
YAMUNA KURIAN
MVSc Scholar
DEPARTMENT OF LIVESTOCK
PRODUCTS TECHNOLOGY
College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences,
PookodeMAJOR ADVISOR: Dr. RENUKA NAYAR

2. Nanotechnology
• Atomic and molecular level study
• Structures sized between 1 to 100 nanometer in at least one
dimension
• Developing or modifying materials or devices within that size
• Novel properties
• Components should remain at nanometer scale
• Involves imaging, measuring, modeling, and manipulating matter at
this length scale
-National Nanotechnology Initiative

3. History
RICHARD FEYNMAN
(1918-1988)
Photo courtesy AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Weber
Father of nanotechnology
“There is plenty of room at the bottom” 1959

4. NorioTaniguchi
Eric Drexler
Harry Kroto
Photo courtesy AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Weber

5. Nanoscale

6. Nano in nature
Fat Globule Diameter: 0.1-100μm (500x) Fat Globule Diameter: 0.1-100μm
Casein Micelles: 20-400nm (50000x)
From H. Mulder and P. Walstra, The Milk Fat
Globule, Pudoc, Wageningen, 1974

7. APPLICATIONS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY
MEDICINE AND HEALTH CARE
AGRICULTURE
ELECTRONICS
POLYMER INDUSTRY
FOOD INDUSTRY

9. Improvement in food processing sector by
nanotechnology application
Improved
organoleptic
characteristics
High
bioavailability
High
absorption
rate
Masking taste
and flavour
Targeted and
controlled
release

10. Nanotechnology in food processing
•Nanoencapsulation
•Nano emulsion

11. Nanoencapsulation
•Nanocapsules
•Liposomes
•Colloidosomes
•Nanocochleates
•Nanofibers
•Nanotubes

12. Cont.....
• Nano encapsulation can make significant savings for
formulators, as it can reduce the amount of active ingredients
needed (Huang et al., 2009).
• Improvement of site specific drug delivery can be achieved by
encapsulating nano – poly D,L – lactic Acid(PLA) with drugs
( Leroux et al., 2006)

13. Courtesy:http://what-when-
how.com/wp-content
Schematic representation of
oil filled nanocapsule
Nanocapsules
• Organic, inorganic or
biological
• Have a shell and a core
• Cavity empty or filled
with polar or nonpolar
solvent
• Size <200nm

14. Source:http://icbpharma.pl

15. Nanoliposomes
Nanoliposomes containing Eucalyptus citriodora as antibiotic with specific
antimicrobial activity(Lin et al.,2014)

16. Cont....
•Multi-layered leak resistant liposomes as a way to
encapsulate anti-bacterials like nisin
•Encapsulated nanoemulsions are better than free
nisin (Weiss et al., 2011)

18. •Colloidosomes are used to contain fat blockers,
medicine and vitamins
(Xia et al.,2006)
•Proposed to form water-soluble nanoparticles with
entrapped β-carotene of controlled functionality
(Markarios, 2009)

19. Nanocochleates
•Nanocoils which wrap around nutrients and
stabilize them
•Made out of soy based phospholipid

20. Product marketed - as a tool for
protecting ω-3 fatty acids - with
claims upon enhanced stability
(BioGeode™, by BioDelivery Sciences
International, Inc., Raleigh, NC, USA).
Cont.

21. Nanofibers
• Electrospinning
• Food packaging
• Scaffold for bacterial
cultures
• Imitation/Artificial foods
The use of intercalated clay or the inclusion of nanofibres
within the walls of otherwise porous plastic bottles
Courtesy: http://www.cdrnd.co.uk

22. Nanotubes
• To immobilize enzymes
• Build analogues to muscle
fibres
• Encapsulate nutrients or
nutraceuticals
A field emission scanning electron micrograph of a
multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) penetrating
the pleura of the lung. Image courtesy of Robert Mercer,
and Diane Schwegler-Berry.Triple-walled armchair carbon nanotube rendered in
POVRay.source: EricWeiser http://creative
commons.org

23. Cont....
•Nanotubes of α-lactalbumin - cavity diametre of 8 nm -
bind - vitamins or enzymes (Srinivas et al.,2010)
•Nanotubes of α-lactalbumin - mask undesirable
flavour/aroma compounds (Graveland et al., 2006).

24. Nanoemulsions
• Nanomicelle
• Nanostructured multiple emulsions
- o/w/o
- w/o/w
Nanomicelle
(Courtesy: NanoBioNet)
• Canola oil based nano sized micellar system -
delivery of materials such as vitamins, minerals or
phytochemicals (Chen et al., 2006)
• Nano sized emulsion-based ice cream -lower fat
content -Nestle and Unilever (Renton, 2006)

25. (Weiss, 2006)
Emulsions containing oil droplets surrounded by multilayer interfaces - better stability than
conventional oil-in-water emulsions – can develop smart delivery systems by engineering - shell
around the droplet
Schematic representation for formation of a number of nanolayers around particles

26. Nanoscience in food packaging
2008 2014
$4.13billion $7.3 billion
www.innoresearch .net

27. Advantages of Nano-based packing
Nano
packing
Improved mechanical
and barrier properties
Antimicrobial effect
Traceability and
biosensing

28. Applications of nanocomposites in
packaging
(Bradley, 2007)
Polymer
nanocomposites
Nano coatings Surface biocides
Bioplastics Biosensors

29. POLYMER NANOCOMPOSITES
• Clay and silicates (Duncan , 2011)
• Silica (SiO2) nanoparticles (Fernandez et al., 2011 )
• Starch- clay nanocomposites (Avella et al., 2011)
• Carbon nanotubes(Zhao et al., 2007)
• Chitosan nanocomposites (Li et al., 2005)
• Cellulose based nanofibers (Azeredo et al., 2010)

30. Nanocoating
• Nanocoating inside package
outside package
sandwiched as a layer in laminated multilayer
packaging films
• Polymer + nanocoating High barrier property.
• Edible coatings and films - on a wide variety of foods -serve as moisture,
lipid and gas barriers ( Cagri et al., 2004)

31. Nanosilica coated nylon
http://juwinpnb.gobizkorea.com/

32. Nano surface biocides
• Nanoparticle with antimicrobial property
• Used in reusable container
refrigerators and freezers
• High ratio of surface area to mass
• Chemicals commonly used are nano silver, titanium dioxide,
zinc oxide and magnesium oxide

33. Cont…
Mechanism
Ultrasonically dispersedTiO2 nanoparticles over EVOH films showed
photoactivated biocidal property against microbes
(Kim et al.,2003)
Directly
interacting with
microbial cells
Producing
secondary
products

34. Cont..
• Nano zinc oxide coated films - effective against Salmonella
enteritidis and Listeria monocytogenes - for liquid egg packaging
(Jim et al., 2008)
• Oxygen scavenger films developed by adding Titania
nanoparticles to different polymers (Xiao et al., 2004)

35. Nanobioplastics
• Biodegradable or compostable
• Obtained from renewable source
• Improved water resistance for cellulose bioplastics –by adding nanocardanol particle
(Kiuchi, 2006)
• Biodegradable and compostable bioplastics packaging (CSIRO 2006) from organic corn
starch (PlanticTechnologies Ltd, Altona, Australia)
http://www.materialsviews.com

36. Nanobiosensors
• Nanosensors can detect certain chemicals, microbes and toxins
• Provides real time status about food (Liao et al., 2005)
• Carbon coated copper nanoparticle – used as moisture sensor
(Luechinger et al.,2007)

38. Possible risks
Courtesy:The Energy and Resources Institute 2010
• Can enter into body through
ingestion, inhalation or dermal
contact
• Able to disrupt cellular,
enzymatic and other organ
related functions posing health
hazards
• Can become non biodegradable
waste
http://Nanomission.gov.in

39. Nanotechnology in India – an overview
• Nanoscience andTechnology Mission (NSTM) in 2007, allotted
Rs. 1000 crores for a period of five years under DST.
• In theTwelfth FiveYear Plan (2012-2017) continuation of the
Mission on Nano Science andTechnology (Nano Mission) in its
Phase-II at a total cost of Rs. 650 crore.

40. Source: Constructed from DST
(dst.gov.in/scientific-programme/ser-nsti.htm)

41. Future perspectives
• Research and development Application level
• Made into cost effective products that can be commercialized
• Research on health effects
• Regulations

42. References
1. Avella M, DeVlieger JJ, Errico ME, Fischer S,Vacca P,Volpe MG. 2005.
Biodegradable starch/clay nanocomposite films for food packaging
applications. Food Chem93:467–74.
2. Azeredo HMC, Mattoso LHC,Wood D,WilliamsTG, Avena-Bustillos RJ, McHugh
TH.2009. Nanocomposite edible films from mango puree reinforced with
cellulosenanofibers. J Food Sci 74(5):N31–N35.
3. Cagri, A., Z. Ustunol and E.T. Ryser., (2004), Antimicrobial edible films and
coatings, J. Food Prot., 67, pp. 833–48.
4.Chen, L.Y., Remondetto, G. E., and Subirade, M., (2006), Food protein based
materials as nutraceutical delivery systems,Trends in Food Science &
Technology, 17, pp. 272 – 283. 10.
5. CSIRO. (2006). Farm factories: harvesting bioplastics.
http://www.solve.csiro.au/0806/article6.htm Accessed 20 June 2009
6. Fernandez, A.,Torres-Giner, S., & Lagaron, J. M. (2009). Novel route to
stabilization of bioactive antioxidants by encapsulation in electrospun fibers
of zein prolamine. Food Hydrocolloids, 23(5), 1427–1432.

43. 7. Graveland-Bikker, J.F.; de Kruif, C.G. Unique milk protein-based nanotubes: food and
nanotechnology meet,Trends Food Sci.Technol. 2006, 17, 196–203. 8.Huang Q, Given
P, and Qian M, (2009), Micro/Nano Encapsulation ofActive Food Ingredients.
Oxford University Press, Eds...
9.Jim D. Nanotechnology its impact on food safety. Journal of Environmental Health, 2008.
January/February, 47-50.
10. Leroux,J.C,Allemann E, Gutny R. Biodegradable nanoparticles – from sustained
release formulations to improved site specific drug delivery. J. Control. Rel.39, 19.
11. Li,Y.,YHT, C. U., & Luo, D. (2005). Multiplexed detection of pathogen DNA with
DNA-based fluorescence nanobarcodes.Nature Biotechnology, 23, 885–889.
12. Lin. L,Cui,H.,zhang,h.,liu,l. Nanoliposomes containing Eucalyptus citriodora as antibiotic
with specific antimicrobial activity.j.chem. comm.2015,13,2653-2655
6. Fathi M, Mirlohi M,Varshosaz J, Madani G. 2013a. Novel caffeic acid nanocarrier: production,
characterization, and release modeling. J Nanomater 2013: p 9. Article ID 434632. Available from:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/434632.

44. Cont.
12. Miss Baker’s Biology ClassWiki – Makarios Available
from:http://missbakersbiologyclasswiki.wikispaces.com/MakariosAccessed
24 March 2009
13. Renton, A., (2006), Welcome to the world of nanofoods. Guardian Unlimited UK
Availableat:http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmonthly/futureoffood/story/
14.Weiss, J.2006Functional Materials in Food Nanotechnology,j.food sci.71,9
15. Zhao, X., Hilliard, L. R., Mechrey, S. J.,Wang,Y., Bague, R.P., Jin, S., et al. A rapid
bioassay for single bacterial cellquantitation using bioconjugated
nanoparticles.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101,2004, 15027
– 15032

45. THANK YOU