Synthesis, Characterization, and Optimization Studies of Starch/Chicken Gelatin Composites for Food-Packaging Applications

The indiscriminate use of plastic in food packaging contributes significantly to environmental pollution, promoting the search for more eco-friendly alternatives for the food industry. This work studied five formulations (T1–T5) of biodegradable cassava starch/gelatin films. The results showed the presence of the starch/gelatin functional groups by FT-IR spectroscopy. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed a thermal reinforcement after increasing the amount of gelatin in the formulations, which increased the crystallization temperature (Tc) from 190 °C for the starch-only film (T1) to 206 °C for the film with 50/50 starch/gelatin (T3). It also exhibited a homogeneous surface morphology, as evidenced by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). However, an excess of gelatin showed low compatibility with starch in the 25/75 starch/gelatin film (T4), evidenced by the low Tc definition and very rough and fractured surface morphology. Increasing gelatin ratio also significantly increased the strain (from 2.9 ± 0.5% for T1 to 285.1 ± 10.0% for T5) while decreasing the tensile strength (from 14.6 ± 0.5 MPa for T1 to 1.5 ± 0.3 MPa for T5). Water vapor permeability (WVP) increased, and water solubility (WS) also decreased with gelatin mass rising in the composites. On the other hand, opacity did not vary significantly due to the films’ cassava starch and gelatin ratio. Finally, optimizing the mechanical and water barrier properties resulted in a mass ratio of 53/47 cassava starch/gelatin as the most appropriate for their application in food packaging, indicating their usefulness in the food-packaging industry.