Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Dec 1:336:149396.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.149396. Online ahead of print.

Instant, sensitive, and distinct colorimetric response of electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol)/tannic acid nanofibrous membrane coated with anthocyanins and carboxymethyl cellulose for intelligent food packaging

Yeon Woo Park  1 , Jun Tae Kim  1 , Yeong Min Kang  1 , Kyu Sung Yang  1 , Yebin Seong  2 , Jong-Soo Lee  2 , Young Il Yoon  3 , Won Ho Park  4
Affiliations

Instant, sensitive, and distinct colorimetric response of electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol)/tannic acid nanofibrous membrane coated with anthocyanins and carboxymethyl cellulose for intelligent food packaging

Yeon Woo Park et al. Int J Biol Macromol. .

Abstract

Colorimetric indicator systems for highly perishable foods during distribution are limited by poor water resistance of hydrophilic matrices and weak anthocyanin immobilization. In this study, composite nanofibrous membranes (NFMs) based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and tannic acid (TA) were fabricated by electrospinning, and water resistance was imparted to them solely through heat treatment, without using chemical crosslinking agents, thereby enhancing their applicability in food-related applications. Anthocyanins (ANTs), natural pigments derived from purple sweet potato that easily degrade during heat treatment, were introduced onto the electrospun PVA/TA NFMs as pH sensors using a dip-coating method under the mediation of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). CMC was used as a coating agent to induce electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonding between the ANTs and CMC on the NFM surface, thereby improving the immobilization stability of ANTs. Scanning electron microscopy analysis confirmed that the nanofibrous structure was preserved after dip-coating, and the synergistic effect of TA and ANTs enhanced the UV-shielding, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities of the NFM. The NFMs responded sensitively to pH changes, exhibiting a noticeable color change (△E > 5) within 1 min; they exhibited a distinct color change in response to pH variations during five repeated exposures to ammonia and acetic acid vapors. Finally, when applied to real food packaging, a distinct color change was observed after 36 h of storage as the spoilage of packaged food progressed, indicating the potential of the developed NFMs as intelligent indicators for monitoring food freshness in real time.

Keywords: Anthocyanin; Carboxymethyl cellulose; Electrospinning; Intelligent food packaging; Nanofibrous membrane; Poly(vinyl alcohol); Tannic acid.

PubMed Disclaimer

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.

LinkOut - more resources