Electrospun nanofiber based on Ethyl cellulose/Soy protein isolated integrated with bitter orange peel extract for antimicrobial and antioxidant active food packaging

Abstract The present work was aimed to produce a novel bioactive nanofiber (NFs) based on Ethyl cellulose (EC), Soy protein isolated (SPI), and containing Bitter orange peel extract (BOPE) by electrospinning technology. The EC/SPI NFs were formulated with different weight ratios of 1:1, 2:1, and 1:2 denoted as ES11, ES21, and ES12, respectively, and investigated by several analyses. Based on the obtained results, the maximum hydrogen interactions between these two polymers, ES11 NFs offered a uniform morphology without bead with the diameter of 185.33 nm as a result of the compatibility of the polymer solutions of EC and SPI. Moreover, appropriate thermal stability was presented along with more porosity (78%), maximum water vapor transmission rate (657 g/m2.24h), good tensile stress (6.12 MPa), and acceptable water contact angel (82.3°). Therefore, ES11 NFs were selected as the optimal sample for incorporation of the BOPE as the antibacterial and antioxidant agent. According to the antioxidant activity test, the highest concentration (20% wt) of this extract increased the antioxidant activity of NF around 64.7% and also inhibited the growth of pathogenic bacteria (S. areus, and E. coli). Therefore, the ES11 electrospun NFs containing 20% BOPE can be a beneficial system to increase the safety and quality of foods.