Advancing Plant Protein-Based Proteoposite Films Targeted for Food Packaging Applications. A Combined Computational and Experimental Approach

Abstract

Demand for polymeric, plastic materials continues to grow each year. However, the limited supply of fossil-fuels and negative environmental impact caused by petrochemical products have led to an increased demand for bio-based plastic alternatives. While there is great interest in developing plant-based alternatives to plastic packaging products, industrial applications of such materials are limited and development of said products is time, cost, and resource consuming. For this reason, advanced, marketable plant-based bioplastics must be developed more efficiently. To achieve such a goal, this thesis outlines a combined computational and experimental approach which results in novel plant proteins-based (proteoposite) films, that demonstrate enhanced performance, developed via a time, cost, and resource-conscious, approach.