Miniaturization of cellulose fibers and effect of addition on the mechanical and barrier properties of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose films

Cellulose fibers were miniaturized by microfluidics technology to decrease their size and incorporated in hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) films to study the effect of addition of such fibers on the mechanical and barrier properties of HPMC films suitable for application in food packaging. The particle size of fibers and the mechanical properties, water vapor and oxygen permeabilities, total pore volume, and light and electron microscopy micrographs of films were analyzed. Incorporation of cellulose fibers in the films improved their mechanical and barrier properties significantly. This study is the first to investigate the use of microfluidics technology for the purpose of decreasing the size of cellulose fibers and the addition of reduced size microfibers to improve physical properties of HPMC films.