Tailoring physico-mechanical and antimicrobial/antioxidant properties of biopolymeric films by cinnamaldehyde-loaded chitosan nanoparticles and their application in packaging of fresh rainbow trout fillets

Abstract In this study, cinnamaldehyde (CIN)-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (CCNPs) were fabricated and embedded into chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol)/fish gelatin (CPF) ternary matrices to improve the physico-mechanical and biofunctional performances of the films. The particle size and ζ-potential values of the CCNPs were 370.3 nm and +32.2 mV, respectively. SEM images revealed that the CCNPs were homogeneously dispersed in the CPF ternary film matrices, thereby filling void spaces in the composite matrix, and significantly improving the bionanocomposite films tensile properties (from 28.33 ± 2.17 MPa to 33.0 ± 1.28 MPa) (p