Hydroxyapatite-Doped Polyhydroxyethylmethacrylate Hydrogels as Smart Porous Packaging Materials

Abstract

The in situ radical polymerization technique has been used for synthesizing different amounts of hydroxyapatite (HAp)doped polyhydroxyethylmethacrylate (PHEMA) films. Film-formed hydrogels were obtained, then the investigation of swelling behavior and moisture contents of composite hydrogels in aqueous solutions was carried out. The morphological and structural properties of the obtained films have been characterized by FT-IR and UV-Vis. spectrophotometer, XRD, and SEM analysis. Obtained films have shown transparent and semitransparent properties, which caused excellent UV-Vis. barrier properties. Gas transmission qualification of the films was evaluated by C, H, and N elemental analysis. HAp-doped and undoped PHEMA films were tested on cherry tomatoes as smart packaging materials. The result of the application test exhibits that these films are suitable for use as a preservative packaging of vegetables because of their visual integrity. In this way, the whole of these characterization and test results elicits the increase of shelf life of cherry tomatoes and reduction of pathogenic caused by food with HAp-doped PHEMA smart porous materials. This study presents HAp-doped PHEMA films as alternative packaging material instead of existing materials, which has a negative environmental impact.