Carbon dot-integrated edible films: emerging synergies for advanced food packaging applications

The escalating global demand for safe, sustainable, and environmentally friendly food packaging has stimulated the research of edible films as potential alternatives to conventional plastics. However, the inherent disadvantages associated with biopolymers, such as poor mechanical properties, their high moisture sensitivities and the absence of significant bioactive properties, hamper the large-scale use of such films. Recently, carbon dots (CDs), a new type of carbon-based nanomaterial with excellent photoluminescence properties and tunable surface wall chemistry and biocompatibility, have gained popularity as multifunctional nanofillers to strengthen edible films. Their incorporation into protein-,…