Recipient Organization
OCEANIT LABORATORIES INC
828 FORT STREET MALL
HONOLULU,HI 96813
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Perishable foods are susceptible to spoilage through oxidation, bacterial or mold growth and bruising/cutting. Approximately 25-30% of global fruits and vegetables (F&V) are lost in postharvest supply chain because of poor safety conduct. The industry is quickly adapting to implement technologies that improve quality by retaining nutrition, inhibit microbial growth and slow enzymatic ripening, thereby extending shelf-life to supply food to the growing population through modified atmospheric packaging (MAP) solutions.Oceanit's novel MOF MAP film packaging designs, DileX and Accel-X, address the USDA's call for products and technologies that ensure the safety of food and enhance nutritional quality from harvest to table. DileX utilizes metal organic framework (MOF) technology to delay the ripening of F&V by either adsorbing generated ethylene or releasing an inhibitor, i.e. cyclopropenes, that block receptors. This packaging solution slows ripening to extend shelf-life. On the other hand, Accel-X is an innovate MOF packaging solution used to accelerate the ripening of ready-to-eat F&V at retail. Oceanit's MOF MAP technologies prevent post-harvest losses in foods, minimizing food waste associated with quick ripening and contamination from pathogens.Oceanit's will partner with Washington State University Food Engineering, to model and down-select the best MOF systems that preferentially adsorb/desorb ethylene and inhibitors to control ripening in F&V. MOF systems will be encapsulated to retain active gases and will be incorporated into film structures designed to control atmosphere in packaging. Diffusion of active ingredients will be validated in experimental permeation studies.
Animal Health Component
30%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
20%
Applied
30%
Developmental
50%
Goals / Objectives
To improve survivability of fruits and vegetables (F&V), postharvest to retail, appropriate MAP technologies are required that are effective at absorbing ethylene, slowing respiration and are deemed safe by FDA and EPA for incorporation into food packaging. Oceanit's Phase I objectives are to:Identify MOF systems that have selective binding and desorption profiles for ethylene and inhibitors, using modeling approaches.Design, synthesize and encapsulate MO to control ripening through delayed diffusion of active gases.Incorporate MOFs into thermally processed films/packaging or solution cast films with induced pores and/or hard and soft segments for selective permeability and regulation of CO2 in the F&V headspace.Demonstrate feasibility of packaging to control ripening of F&V through applied atmosphere adsorption/diffusion studies and film characterization: oxygen transmission rate (OTR), water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), ethylene/CO2/O2 headspace content, and mechanical properties (elongation, tensile strength, modulus, etc.).
Project Methods
A MOF system that adsorbs and retains ethylene would be favorable for climacteric fruit that requires low respiration rate for long shelf life. Oceanit will explore copper MOF systems the preferential functional groups on organic linkers to hold onto exerted ethylene.To promote ripening at the final stage of retail, where fruits are near ready-to-eat, a MOF that slowly desorbs encapsulated ethylene could be used to trigger ripening in bananas, apples, peaches, mangoes, pears and tomatoes.Oceanit will also explore incorporation of inhibitors, such as 1-MCP, into MOF architectures that will compete with ethylene receptors on the plant. As1-MCP is a gas, encapsulation techniques will be utilized to trap and delay the release of 1-MCP. Water soluble encapsulants (dextrins and PVA) are effective release agents, as plant transpiration will trigger and promote slow dissolution of the shell, thereby releasing the inhibitor at a gradual pace for prolonged storage.Dr. Sablani's Food Engineering research group has extensive experience in innovative food packaging solutions, stability and shelf-life studies, release kinetics and modeling.WSU will model top MOF candidates for Oceanit to use in film incorporation.For encapsulation of ethylene and 1-MCP, techniques will be used to first scrub the gas and/or distill gases to purify streams before purging the MOF systems for adsorption of the active gas. Purging may be done in a reactive solvent with MOFs so that cyclodextrin is precipitated onto the MOFs using antisolvent techniques while stirring. Drying will be performed to sequester the particles that can later be embedded into films, packaging or coatingsThrough modeling efforts, encapsulation, application engineering and film processing, these final products in film format can be tested for performance: mechanical, optical, thermal, barrier and diffusion.Oceanit's Instron will be used for testing elongation at break, tensile strength and Young's Modulus using ASTM D882. Water absorption (ASTM D570), air permeability (ASTM D737), OTR (cm3/m2.d.atm by ASTM D3985) and WVTR (ASTM E96/ E96M-12) will be measured along with ethylene content inside the packagingto demonstrate efficacy. Thermal properties will be measured by TGA/DSC at Oceanit to determine Tgand onset of degradation. XRD will be performed by WSU to determine crystallinity and compatibility of film phases.An easy scalable processing method for blending MOFs into polymer films is to first compound with twin extruders to generate masterbatch resin pellets that can be thermally processed by itself or blended with other polymer types to create films via lamination or blow molding as common industry practice. WSU will incorporate MOFs into polymer films by thermal processing with extruders (for films/sheets), compression molding, thermoforming and hot melt pressing with laboratory scale equipment. In parallel, Oceanit will create unique film structures with biodegradable films, PLA or PEO through casting techniques that can later be scaled with lamination equipment in industry.In some cases, Oceanit will explore solvent casting films or thermal compression for early POC and film research and development.Mechanical, barrier, optical, and thermal properties of the film will be characterized.To monitor the adsorption or desorptionof ethylene or other inhibitors, controlled experiments will be performed with the developed MOF food packaging and a closed atmosphere.GC-FID will measure concentrations of components in the headspace to monitor the decrease or increase of ethylene.Select fruit will be placed in vented and air-tight container sealed with the MOF films. The ripening effect of the fruit will be monitored over time. For air-tight systems, the headspace will be monitored against a control fruit sealed in a container with saran wrap. Additional controls will be left at room temperature for comparison of ripeness by feel/touch, color and smell.