Development and characterization of cellulosic nanofibre matrix loaded with hexanal

Abstract

An electrospun cellulosic nano-fibre matrix was developed using polyvinyl alcohol and β-cyclodextrin polymers and employed as a smart delivery system for a gaseous molecule (hexanal) which is known to extend shelf-life of fruits and vegetables. A laboratory study was undertaken to encapsulate hexanal in electrospun cellulosic nano-fibre matrices. In order to develop cellulosic matrix, a cellulosic paper with 399 μm thickness was chosen as a substrate to deposit elecrospun nano-fibre. The biodegradable nano-stickers developed and characterized. The high resolution imaging with SEM has shown that the diameter of nanofibre made of PVA + β-cyclodextrin before and after loading of hexanal were about 160 ± 10nm and 290 ± 10nm, respectively. The vertical sectioning was done to measure the thickness of deposited nanofiber over the substrate was 4.1µm. The internal features of the nano-fibres were visualized under Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). The average diameter of the nanofibre before and after loading of hexanal was 53.4 and 166nm, respectively. The hexanal loaded into the fibre was measured as 73.6 nm. The XRD indicates the crystallinity of nanofibre before and after loading of hexanal.