文献类型：期刊文献

英文题名：Photo-crosslinking: An emerging strategy for improving the performance of biopolymer-based food packaging

作者：Zhang, Hankai[1];Zhang, Heyujia[1];Dong, Yuhe[1];Yu, Xi[1];Xiao, Ying[1];Sun, Weizheng[2];Feng, Chun[3];Huang, Xiaoyu[4];Zhong, Tian[1]

机构：[1]Macau Univ Sci & Technol, Fac Med, Ave Wai Long, Taipa 999078, Macao, Peoples R China;[2]South China Univ Technol, Sch Food Sci & Engn, Guangzhou 510641, Peoples R China;[3]East China Univ Sci & Technol, Sch Mat Sci & Engn, 130 Meilong Rd, Shanghai 200237, Peoples R China;[4]Chinese Acad Sci, Shanghai Inst Organ Chem, State Key Lab Fluorine & Nitrogen Chem & Adv Mat, 345 Lingling Rd, Shanghai 200032, Peoples R China

年份：2026

卷号：175

外文期刊名：TRENDS IN FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

收录：;EI(收录号：20262721031606);Scopus(收录号：2-s2.0-105043471977);WOS:【SCI-EXPANDED(收录号:WOS:001818756600001)】；

基金：This study was supported by the Macau Science and Technology Development Fund (FDCT: 0009/2023/AFJ and 0005/2024/AGJ) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52361165657) .

语种：英文

外文关键词：Photochemical mechanisms; Biopolymer films; Active packaging; Polysaccharide modification; Protein networks; Reaction mechanisms

摘要：Background: The global environmental crisis driven by petroleum-based plastic waste has necessitated a paradigm shift in food packaging toward sustainable biopolymers. However, the intrinsic hydrophilicity and limited mechanical robustness of native proteins and polysaccharides restrict their industrial substitution for synthetic polyolefins. Traditional chemical crosslinking often involves toxic reagents, while physical treatments generate unstable networks. Photo-crosslinking has emerged as a green and efficient strategy, offering rapid kinetics, catalyst-free processing, and precise microstructural regulation to reconcile sustainability with advanced material performance. Scope and approach: This review systematically examines recent progress in photo-crosslinked biopolymer films, providing a critical analysis of the mechanistic dichotomy between material classes. It elucidates the structureproperty relationships connecting crosslinking density to microstructural changes and macroscopic enhancements in multiple properties. Furthermore, this review evaluates the transition of photo-crosslinking from simple structural reinforcement to functional applications, specifically highlighting emerging strategies in active packaging and the design of smart, recyclable closed-loop materials. Key findings and conclusions: Across the biopolymer matrices surveyed, optimized photo-crosslinking delivers substantial but matrix-dependent improvements in mechanical strength, moisture barrier, thermal stability and optical performance. Demonstrated applications include antimicrobial films that extend the shelf life of perishable food, UV-shielding films that prevent photo-oxidation of light-sensitive lipids, antioxidant films that suppress lipid oxidation, and wavelength-reversible coatings that enable closed-loop recycling of multilayer films. Together these outcomes position photo-crosslinking as a versatile, low-toxicity route to next-generation sustainable food packaging. The practical transition from the lab to industry will require quantitative irradiation reporting, depth-resolved dose characterization, and case-by-case food-contact safety assessment.