Thermal-Driven Curcumin Release Film with Dual-Mode Synergistic Antibacterial Behavior for Efficient Tangerine Preservation.

Antimicrobial packing showed great potential in extending the shelf life of food. However, developing a new biocomposite film with an intelligent and efficient antimicrobial performance is still desirable. Herein, a Fe-MoO encapsulated with curcumin (Cur) filled chitosan-based composite film (CCF films) was prepared by solvent casting method. The total color differences of the CCF films were less than 30%, and satisfactory surface color, transparency, hydrophobicity, and thermal stability were also obtained. Besides, the UV-light/water/oxygen barrier capability and mechanical properties were enhanced with the incorporation of Cur@Fe-MoO. Moreover, CCF films showed photothermal performance and thermal-controlled curcumin release ability, which endowed the CCF film with excellent antibacterial capability toward (≥99.95%) and (≥99.96%) due to the synergistic antibacterial effect. Fe-MoO exhibited high cell viability and less than 5% hemolysis even under the concentration of 500 μg mL. Based on those unique characteristics, the CCF film was chosen for tangerine preservation. The CCF film could prolong the shelf life of tangerine by at least 9 days compared with the unpacking group, and the tangerines could maintain the freshness characteristics over a 24 day storage period. Such thermal-mediated antibacterial film proposed by our work showed promising potential in food packaging.