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. 2020 Oct 30:328:126768.
doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.126768. Epub 2020 Apr 7.

Development of a colorimetric pH indicator using nanofibers containing Spirulina sp. LEB 18

Suelen Goettems Kuntzler  1 , Jorge Alberto Vieira Costa  2 , Ana Paula Dutra Resem Brizio  3 , Michele Greque de Morais  4
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Development of a colorimetric pH indicator using nanofibers containing Spirulina sp. LEB 18

Suelen Goettems Kuntzler et al. Food Chem. .

Abstract

A colorimetric pH indicator was developed using nanofibers of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) combined with biomass of the microalga Spirulina sp. LEB 18. This study evaluates the potential use of microalgal biomass encapsulated in polymer nanofibers to develop a colorimetric pH indicator. Nanofibers containing the biomass were exposed to solutions with different pH values (pH 1-10), and color variations were measured using a colorimeter. The wettability analysis of the nanofibers showed hydrophilicity (zero angle with water), which allows ions to interact with the biomass, indicating a fast color response as a function of pH. When subjected to pH variations, indicators containing 1, 2 or 3% (w v-1) of biomass provided ΔΕ values >12, indicating an absolute difference in color. Therefore, this innovative material has the potential to be applied as a intelligent indicator to verify food quality through a visual signal of the product condition.

Keywords: Electrospinning; Food packaging; Microalgae.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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