Smart conducting polymer innovations for sustainable and safe food packaging technologies

El Guerraf, A, Ziani, I, Ben Jadi, S, El Bachiri, A, Bazzaoui, M, Bazzaoui, EA and Sher, F ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2890-5912, 2024. Smart conducting polymer innovations for sustainable and safe food packaging technologies. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 23 (6): e70045. ISSN 1541-4337

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Abstract

Biofilm formation on food packaging surfaces is a major issue in the industry, as it leads to contamination, reduces shelf life, and poses risks to human health. To mitigate these effects, developing smart coatings that can actively sense and combat microbial growth has become a critical research focus. This study is motivated by the need for intelligent packaging solutions that integrate antimicrobial agents and sensors for real-time contamination detection. It is hypothesized that combining conducting polymers (CPs) with nanomaterials can enhance antimicrobial efficacy while maintaining the mechanical integrity and environmental stability required for food packaging applications. Through the application of numerous technologies like surface modification, CP–nanoparticle integration, and multilayered coating, the antimicrobial performance and sensor capabilities of these materials were analyzed. Case studies showed a 90% inhibition of bacterial growth and a tenfold decrease in viable bacterial counts with AgNPs incorporation, extending strawberries’ shelf life by 40% and maintaining fish freshness for an additional 5 days. Moreover, multilayered CP coatings in complex systems have been shown to reduce oxidative spoilage in nuts and dried fruits by up to 85%, while maintaining the quality of leafy greens for up to 3 weeks under suboptimal conditions. Environmental assessments indicated a 30% reduction in carbon footprint when CP coatings were combined with biodegradable polymers, contributing to a more transparent and reliable food supply chain. CP-based films integrated with intelligent sensors exhibit high sensitivity, detecting ammonia concentrations below 500 ppb, and offer significant selectivity for sensing hazardous gases. These findings indicate that CP-based smart coatings markedly enhance food safety and sustainability in packaging applications.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety
Creators:	El Guerraf, A., Ziani, I., Ben Jadi, S., El Bachiri, A., Bazzaoui, M., Bazzaoui, E.A. and Sher, F.
Publisher:	Wiley
Date:	November 2024
Volume:	23
Number:	6
ISSN:	1541-4337
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1111/1541-4337.70045 DOI 2556368 Other
Rights:	© 2024 The Author(s). Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Institute of Food Technologists. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Science and Technology
Record created by:	Laura Borcherds
Date Added:	14 Jan 2026 17:16
Last Modified:	14 Jan 2026 17:16
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/55040

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