Antimicrobial Properties of Nanoparticles and Their Application in Active Food Packaging: A Review

During recent years, the tendency to expand and development of novel packaging systems in the food industry has been widely considered. One of the most important types of modern food packaging systems is active packaging containing various preservatives. Antimicrobial agents are one of the most important active compounds used in active packaging design. Different types of antimicrobial compounds have been used for this purpose and nanoparticles with antimicrobial properties are are an important example of them. These nanoparticles are used in the film matrix or as a coating on internal surface of packaging film and show antimicrobial effect on the surface of foodstuff without migrating into the food material. Metal nanoparticles (nano-silver) and metal oxides (titanium dioxide, zinc oxide and copper oxide) as well as some organic nanoparticles (chitosan nanoparticles) have shown significant antimicrobial activity and have been used in recent years in production. Active packaging has been expanded to increase the shelf life of various food products. In this review article, antimicrobial types of nanomaterials that can be used in the production of active packaging are mentioned. The chemical properties and properties of these nanomaterials, their antimicrobial effect mechanisms, and examples of their application in food packaging are discussed in detail.