Hydrophobic electrospun membrane of peppermint oil loaded zein with coating of methyltriethoxysilane for active packaging

Zein electrospun nanofibers are widely used as the vehicles to load bioactive entities for release control; however, the water absorption of zein always restricts their applications in food preservation. In this work, an active hydrophobic membrane of peppermint oil (PO) loaded zein (ZN) with coating of methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) was developed for pork preservation. The fiber matrix of ZN was use for PO incorporation. The secondary structure of ZN and the feature of the relevant fibers are dependent on solvents of acetic acid and ethyl alcohol. In the composite structure, PO is hydrogen-bonded with ZN matrix; while the coating of MTES is bonded with fiber matrix by Si–O–C. The well-controlled release of PO predominantly follows the law of Fickian diffusion, endowing the membrane good antibacterial activity and antioxidant activity. The coating of MTES has no obvious influence on the bioactivities but provides the membrane outstanding hydrophobicity with water contact angle of 138 ± 5°. ZN-PO30-MTES can extend shelf life of pork by 100% (i.e., 24 h) at 25 °C, demonstrating its potential in food active packaging.