Impact of various surfactants on the properties of fucoidan-based biopolymer films extracted from brown seaweed (Padina boergesenii) for active food packaging.

This study investigates the effect of various surfactants, such as Lecithin, Span 80, and Tween 80, on the physicochemical properties of biopolymer films fabricated from fucoidan (extracted from brown seaweed) and gelatin. The fucoidan was extracted from brown seaweed (Padina boergesenii) using a modified formalin and ethanol precipitation method to obtain a sulfated polysaccharide and combined with gelatin to make composite films by casting method. Surfactants were introduced to enhance oil (juniper berry oil) dispersion and modify the film's characteristics. The tensile strength and thickness of the film sample increased with the addition of essential oil and surfactant. The SEM analysis revealed the formation of granular-like structures in biocomposite films. The XRD analysis revealed the semi-crystalline structure, and FTIR confirmed functional group interactions between the film components. The TGA analysis indicated a decrease in the thermal stability of lecithin-loaded film samples compared to other samples loaded with surfactants. The biodegradability study of fabricated films in natural soil revealed that lecithin-loaded film samples showed lowest biodegradability. The biodegradability study in seawater suggested that the film samples loaded with Tween 80 were less biodegrabale compared to other surfactants. These findings highlight the critical role of surfactants, essential oils and biopolymers in designing active biodegradable packaging.