Bio-films based on alginate/modified clay through spray drying: Mechanical, rheological, morphological, and transport properties for potential use as active food packaging.

In this study, encapsulated modified montmorillonite with alginate (MMT-TBZC16/Alg) content and its incorporation into the biopolymer on morphological, mechanical, rheological, and transport properties of bio-based films based on chitosan were analyzed. The spray-drying approach was used to create organo-modified montmorillonite with alginate as a biopolymer. These encapsulating materials were then described and used as reinforcing agents for chitosan in the second step of this investigation to produce new reinforced biofilms with improved performance. This study aimed to study the effect of the addition of encapsulated organo-montmorillonite into the chitosan solution on the mechanical, rheological, and transport properties of the elaborated films. Films reinforced with encapsulated modified montmorillonite were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) as well as mechanical and rheological properties. Adding encapsulated reinforcing agents to chitosan-based films is an option for improving mechanical and water barrier qualities. These results suggest that the developed MMT-TBZC16/Alginate-based chitosan films with higher performances could be used in designing potential packaging films.