Citric acid cross-linking is an efficient technique for modifying citrus pectin to boost its efficiency in sustainable packaging functions. On this article, Chandra Mohan Chandrasekar, Daniele Carullo, Francesco Saitta, Tommaso Bellesia, Elena Caneva, Chiara Baschieri, Marco Signorelli, Dimitrios Fessas, Stefano Farris and Davide Romano, investigated the structural modifications induced by citric acid cross-linking and their affect on the properties of nanocellulose-reinforced packaging movies..
The authors demonstrated that cross-linking considerably alters the construction–property relationship of the biopolymer matrix, resulting in improved movie integrity and modified floor morphology. These outcomes present beneficial perception into biopolymer modification methods for the event of environmentally pleasant packaging supplies.
Atomic pressure microscopy (AFM) was employed to characterize the floor morphology of the movies. Measurements had been carried out utilizing a commercially accessible AFM instrument operated in touch resonance amplitude imaging (CRAI) mode. A NanoWorld Arrow-FMR AFM probe was used.
This AFM probe contains a rectangular beam with a triangular free finish and a tetrahedral tip (tip radius ~10 nm, tip peak 10–15 μm), with a spring fixed of two.8 N/m and a resonance frequency of 75 kHz. Root imply sq. floor roughness values had been calculated from not less than 5 height-mode photographs.

Full citation: Chandrasekar, C. M.; Carullo, D.; Saitta, F.; Bellesia, T.; Caneva, E.; Baschieri, C.; Signorelli, M.; Fessas, D.; Farris, S.; Romano, D. “Structural elucidation of citric acid cross-linked pectin and its impact on the properties of nanocellulose-reinforced packaging films.” International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 2025, 333(2), 148869. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.148869
Attribution 4.0 International By exercising the Licensed Rights (defined below), You accept and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of this Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (“Public License”). To the extent this Public License may be interpreted as a contract, You are granted the Licensed Rights in consideration of Your acceptance of these terms and conditions, and the Licensor grants You such rights in consideration of benefits the Licensor receives from making the Licensed Material available under these terms and conditions. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.en

