Wax-Functionalized Bacterial Cellulose Foils as Renewable Food Packaging with Enhanced Barrier and Antimicrobial Performance
- 1Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Animal Sciences, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Piastow 45, 70-311 Szczecin, Poland
Abstract
This study investigated bacterial cellulose films (BCF) coated with twelve commercially available natural-origin wax and wax-like formulations as potential bio-based food-packaging materials. Bacterial cellulose (BC), produced by Komagataeibacter xylinus, was purified, homogenized, and dehydrated to obtain films suitable for subsequent wax coating. Among the preparation conditions investigated, a BC-to-water mass ratio of 1:2, a wet pulp mass of 45 g per dish, and drying at 60 °C for 24 h were selected. The resulting materials were evaluated for their water-related properties, surface wettability, antimicrobial activity, and antibiofilm performance. Wax coating reduced about threefold water uptake and liquid-water transfer compared with uncoated BCF and increased the mean water contact angle from 47.6° to 94.3°. The antimicrobial and antibiofilm effects varied depending on the wax formulation and the microorganism tested, reaching over 99% reduction in C. albicans and S. aureus for eight of the twelve wax formulations. Among the twelve formulations, the commercially available rapeseed–coconut wax blend (70:30; BCF-RCW) exhibited a favorable combination of water-related and antimicrobial properties and was selected for further surface micromorphology and mechanical characterization. In a preliminary food-storage experiment, all tested food samples wrapped in BCF-RCW exhibited significantly lower microbial counts than those wrapped in conventional polyethylene film or food wrapping paper during 21 days of refrigerated storage (over 99% reduction). These findings support the further development of wax-coated BC films as promising bio-based materials for functional food-packaging applications.
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BibTeX
@article{redlarska2026waxfunctionalized,
title = {{Wax-Functionalized Bacterial Cellulose Foils as Renewable Food Packaging with Enhanced Barrier and Antimicrobial Performance}},
author = {Elżbieta Redlarska and Klaudia Snopek and Martyna Mielniczuk and Karol Fijałkowski and Anna Żywicka},
journal = {Polymers},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3390/polym18212705},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2705},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Wax-Functionalized Bacterial Cellulose Foils as Renewable Food Packaging with Enhanced Barrier and Antimicrobial Performance
AU - Elżbieta Redlarska
AU - Klaudia Snopek
AU - Martyna Mielniczuk
AU - Karol Fijałkowski
AU - Anna Żywicka
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/01
JO - Polymers
DO - 10.3390/polym18212705
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2705
AB - This study investigated bacterial cellulose films (BCF) coated with twelve commercially available natural-origin wax and wax-like formulations as potential bio-based food-packaging materials. Bacterial cellulose (BC), produced by Komagataeibacter xylinus, was purified, homogenized, and dehydrated to obtain films suitable for subsequent wax coating. Among the preparation conditions investigated, a BC-to-water mass ratio of 1:2, a wet pulp mass of 45 g per dish, and drying at 60 °C for 24 h were selected. The resulting materials were evaluated for their water-related properties, surface wettability, antimicrobial activity, and antibiofilm performance. Wax coating reduced about threefold water uptake and liquid-water transfer compared with uncoated BCF and increased the mean water contact angle from 47.6° to 94.3°. The antimicrobial and antibiofilm effects varied depending on the wax formulation and the microorganism tested, reaching over 99% reduction in C. albicans and S. aureus for eight of the twelve wax formulations. Among the twelve formulations, the commercially available rapeseed–coconut wax blend (70:30; BCF-RCW) exhibited a favorable combination of water-related and antimicrobial properties and was selected for further surface micromorphology and mechanical characterization. In a preliminary food-storage experiment, all tested food samples wrapped in BCF-RCW exhibited significantly lower microbial counts than those wrapped in conventional polyethylene film or food wrapping paper during 21 days of refrigerated storage (over 99% reduction). These findings support the further development of wax-coated BC films as promising bio-based materials for functional food-packaging applications.
SN - 2073-4360
ER -