Development and characterization of nano-modified ethyl cellulose/chitosan composite films with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties for active food packaging

This study reports the development of ethyl cellulose (EC)-based composite films incorporating nano-modified chitosan (CS) and nano-dispersed graphene oxide (GO) to overcome the limited antimicrobial and antioxidant functionality of EC for active meat packaging. Composite films (EC, EC/GO, EC/CS-Glu, EC/CS-GO, and EC/CS-Glu-GO) were fabricated via solution casting at a low total solid content of 1.18% (w/w). Incorporation of nano-modified CS significantly improved mechanical properties, increasing the ultimate tensile strength from 36.2 MPa (EC) to 66.2 MPa (EC/CS-Glu-GO), with enhanced elongation at break. SEM and AFM analyses confirmed uniform morphology and effective nanofiller dispersion. REMA and shake-flask assays demonstrated strong antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli , with MIC values of 58–234 μg/mL and up to 100% and 96–98% reductions, respectively, after 24 h. Composite films also showed enhanced antioxidant activity and controlled release behavior. Application trials on high-fat ground beef stored at −8 °C revealed significantly lower TBARS values for EC/CS-Glu-GO films (1.92 mg MDA/kg at day 60) compared to EC (2.62 mg MDA/kg), indicating delayed lipid oxidation. Overall, these findings highlight the cooperative effect of GO and glucose-modified CS in producing multifunctional EC-based films for frozen meat packaging. • The composite EC-based film was produced with GO, CS and Glu. • The composite films had uniform coverage and acceptable morphology. • The films containing GO and CS exhibited the highest antibacterial activity. • Ground beef wrapped in the composite films had significantly lower lipid oxidation after 10 days at 4°C.