Controlled atmosphere in food packaging using ethylene−α-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes dispersed in photocured acrylic films

Waste of fruits in their supply chain is an issue that is drawing increasing interest. Postharvest ripening processes enable better control of the ripening and diminish the loss of produce. Many of these techniques consist of exposure of fruits to controlled concentrations of ethylene, which acts as a phytohormone and trigger the ripening process. In this work, a new way to control the ethylene administration is studied. Inclusion complexes of ethylene in α-cyclodextrin are produced by molecular encapsulation and the crystals obtained are dispersed in thermosetting films made of Poly(ethylene glycol)diacrylate polymerized by UV-curing. The samples are then characterized with respect to thermal behavior, complex crystalline structure and ethylene release kinetics both from the loose crystals and those embedded into the polymeric films.