Pea protein isolate nanocomposite films for packaging applications: effect of starch nanocrystals on the structural, morphological, thermal, mechanical and barrier properties

Abstract: Studies have been made to explore the utilization of pea proteins in terms of edible film and coating materials. The reinforcement of biopolymer films with plant-based nanocrystals has been applied in order to improve their performance properties. The objective was to evaluate the effect of the incorporation of corn starch nanocrystals (SN) (0-15%) in pea protein isolate films. Thermal analysis showed that the addition of up to 5% starch nanocrystals increased thermal stability. A 22.3% decrease was observed in water vapor permeability with the addition of SN. Increasing the SN concentration altered the arrangement of the structure to interleaved, in the matrix, as seen in transmission micrographs. This study showed that the use of corn starch nanocrystals as reinforcement in pea protein films had an effect on the films. The incorporation of up to 10% SN is suggested in order to increase the performance properties of pea protein isolate films.