Plasma nanoengineered active packaging for extended shelf life
Innovative plasma nanoengineered packaging with antimicrobial properties prolongs food shelf life by preventing microbial growth. Utilizing non-toxic gold nanoclusters, it enhances food safety, reduces spoilage, and supports economic efficiency.
Overview
The plasma nanoengineered active packaging is an advanced solution designed to extend the shelf life of food products by incorporating antimicrobial coatings. This technology employs plasma nanoengineering to apply a thin layer of antimicrobial coating, embedded with ultrasmall gold nanoclusters, onto packaging materials. These gold nanoclusters are non-toxic and effectively inhibit bacterial growth, ensuring food safety and quality. By reducing spoilage and decay, this innovation offers significant economic benefits for consumers, retailers, and producers through improved inventory management and reduced food waste.
Technical specifications
- Plasma nanoengineering: Utilizes a custom-built plasma reactor to apply amine-based polymer coatings.
- Gold nanoclusters: Ultrasmall, non-toxic clusters covalently bonded to prevent leaching into food.
- Safety and compliance: Aligns with industry standards and regulatory frameworks for food safety.
- Characterization methods: Includes ellipsometry for coating thickness, scanning electron microscopy for morphology, X-ray spectroscopy for surface chemistry, and tensile strength testing.
- Antibacterial efficacy: Undergoes comprehensive antibacterial testing and mechanism studies.
Technology readiness level
This technology is currently at TRL 3, indicating experimental proof of concept. Ongoing studies include scale-up demonstrations to validate efficacy and safety for commercial application.
About Flinders University
Flinders University is a comprehensive public research university based in Adelaide with a growing footprint across South Australia. Its Tonsley campus sits inside the Tonsley Innovation District, placing researchers alongside industry, government, and startups in facilities designed for co-development and demonstration. The health and medical precinct integrates the university with Flinders Medical Centre and a new Health & Medical Research Building, enabling rapid clinical collaboration and translation. Research is supported by competitive funding from the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council, and the Medical Research Future Fund. A dedicated research partnerships and commercialisation team and an active entrepreneurship institute help industry engage, manage IP, and launch new ventures.
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