Green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles by using propolis extract and its application in preparation of biodegradable active film based on whey protein isolate

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• Behnoush Imani ¹
• Hadi Almasi ¹
• MirKhalil Pirouzifard ¹
• Himan Nourbakhsh ²

¹ Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran

² Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kurdistan University, Sanandaj, Iran

10.22067/ifstrj.2025.95130.1470

Abstract

Introduction
Whey protein isolate has been considered in food packaging due to its edibility, biodegradability, ability to produce transparent, colorless and odorless films and coatings, cheapness and high relative abundance, as well as high barrier to oxygen and aromatic compounds at low relative humidity. However, the poor mechanical properties of these films, such as low tensile strength, inherent stiffness and poor water vapor barrier, have limited their application. Therefore, to overcome this limitation, in this study, the use of zinc oxide nanoparticles produced by green synthesis method from propolis alcoholic extract in the production of biodegradable films based on whey protein isolate was investigated. The effect of ultrasound treatment on the green synthesis process and the characteristics of the manufactured nanoparticles were also studied.
Materials and Methods
The production of zinc oxide nanoparticles by green synthesis method was as follows: first, zinc nitrate was prepared with different concentrations of 0.075, 0.15 and 0.25 M. The alcoholic extract of propolis was slowly and dropwise added to the prepared zinc nitrate solution. The reaction was carried out on a heater stirrer at 60 °C for 5 h. The pH of the solution was adjusted to 10 during the reaction using sodium hydroxide so that after the end of mixing, a brick-colored precipitate of zinc oxide nanoparticles was observed at the bottom of the container. The precipitates were centrifuged for 10 min at 4000 rpm. After this stage, the accumulated zinc oxide precipitates were washed with distilled water to separate impurities and finally placed in an electric furnace at 350 °C for 2 h. After this time, zinc oxide nanoparticles can be obtained in a light gray to white color. In the ultrasonic method, the brick-colored solution obtained before centrifugation was subjected to ultrasonic waves in an ultrasonic bath for 15 min, and then the same procedure was followed. To prepare the alcoholic extract of propolis, 15 g of propolis was mixed with 20 mL of 99% ethanol and placed in a shaker at 180 rpm for 24 h at room temperature. The resulting solution was filtered with Whatman paper No. 1. Finally, the solvent was recovered in a rotary evaporator at 45 °C. The superior nanoparticles were then obtained to be incorporated in the films of whey protein isolate at different concentrations of 3, 5 and 7 % and the physicochemical, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties were studied.
Results and Discussion
The results of FTIR analysis of nanoparticles showed a decrease in the intensity or elimination of some bands presented in propolis extract, which indicated the participation of these functional groups in the process of zinc ion reduction and surface coating of nanoparticles. The morphology of nanoparticles also showed that the samples treated by ultrasound had a more homogeneous morphology than those without ultrasound. So, zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized at a concentration of 0.25 M zinc nitrate with ultrasound were selected as the superior sample due to their appropriate density, regular shape and uniform distribution of particles. These particles were then added to whey protein isolate film at concentrations of 3, 5 and 7% to compare their performance and their properties in comparison with the control whey protein isolate film. The results showed that with increasing the percentage of nanoparticles, the solubility and water vapor permeability decreased and the antioxidant property, tensile strength, elongation and Young's modulus increased significantly (p < 0.05). This increase was greater in samples containing zinc oxide nanoparticles treated with ultrasound than in samples without ultrasound (p < 0.05). The findings of the antimicrobial property also indicated that the gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus was more sensitive to zinc oxide nanoparticles treated with propolis extract than the gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli.
Conclusion
In general, the findings of this study showed that the use of zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized with propolis extract using ultrasound improves the physicochemical and microbial properties of the whey protein isolate.
Founding Source
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Keywords

• Biodegradable Film
• Green Synthesis of Nanoparticles
• Nanoparticles
• Propolis Extract
• Zinc Oxide

Main Subjects

• Food Technology

Authors retain the copyright. This is an open access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)

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