Improvement of fish protein film with nanoclay and transglutaminase for food packaging

Montmorillonite (MMT) nanoclay and microbial transglutaminase (MTGase) were incorporated into Fish myofibrillar protein (FMP) film to improve its functional properties. The MMT and MTGase weight percent relative to protein was varied from 1 to 5 and 1 to 3, respectively, and their impact on physical, mechanical, and barrier properties of the FMP films was investigated. Microstructure of FMP nanocomposites was characterized through; scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results showed that incorporating MMT and MTGase into film improves significantly water gain, water vapor permeability, and solubility of the FMP film. It was also shown that the combined effect of clay and MTGase improves significantly the tensile strength and elongation of nanocomposites (p < 0.05). The SEM, XRD and FTIR results confirmed that the improvements are related to the MMT exfoliation and good interaction between fish myofibrillar protein and MTGase in the presence of MMT.