NANOPACK · Multifunctional Nanomaterials for Intelligent Food Packaging Applications

There is a great need for rapid, accurate, cost effective, reliable, non-invasive and non-destructive sensing platforms to evaluate real-time quality of food products. Integration of such devices into intelligent packaging systems provides an efficient tool for real-time monitoring of food quality, facilitating food safety and biosecurity. The main objective of the suggested research is to develop novel multifunctional nanomaterials and devices that could in future power intelligent forms of food packaging. The materials will be based on elctroochemically-prepared nanostructured inorganic porous scaffolds, composed primarily of silicon (Si) and silicon oxide (SiO2) and their hybrids with various polymers/hydrogels. These materials will be designed to perform different tasks, including detecting, sensing, biosensing, and tagging. An emphasis will be made on the interaction of these devices with food, their long term stability and their integrability with conventional food packaging platforms. The potential of the suggested technology is far reaching, and is expected to have an impact on numerous disciplines including, packaging science, food science, biotechnology, polymer science, nanotechnology and sensor science.