STUMAT · Development of Smart PHBV films with microencapsulated spirulina as TUnable food contact MATerials

The substantial global food waste linked to plastic-based packaging highlights the urgent need for sustainable alternatives. Polyhydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate (PHBV) is a promising eco-friendly option, but its use in the food industry is limited due to inadequate mechanical properties. Attempts to improve PHBV materials with existing additives have encountered issues like biodegradation challenges, poor dispersion, and undesired crystallization. However, novel bio-based ferulic acid derivatives are predicted to solve this problem by tuning PHBV’s properties through enhancing free volume between polymer chains while maintaining physical interactions. Additionally, transforming PHBV into smart materials for food contact applications remains unexplored. Encapsulation of Spirulina platensis extract (C-PS) could be a way forward due to its advantageous natural chemical composition (known for pH-responsive color-changing properties). However, conventional encapsulation methods often result in unstable microbeads. To overcome this, droplet millifluidics can be employed to achieve stable encapsulation of C-PS in alginate microbeads, enabling PHBV to become smart for the first time. The current project aims to create new additives to improve the mechanical properties of PHBV through green chemistry and modeling approaches, to encapsulate C-PS in alginate microbeads using droplet millifluidics during a secondment to produce smart materials through green manufacturing and test them for spoilage detection. Aligned with the EU’s ""farm to fork"" priority, STUMAT will allow me to combine interdisciplinary skills gained from both the host and secondment on the additive synthesis and microencapsulation respectively to integrate a new generation of bio-based additives and microencapsulated C-PS into PHBV to unlock its full potential which will act as a blueprint for future smart material development, positioning me as an independent researcher to establish my research group.""