Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Biodegradar para No Contaminar: El Futuro de los Plásticos

This Spanish-language paper reviews the current state of biodegradable plastics as alternatives to conventional polymers, examining the potential for bio-based materials to reduce microplastic formation and marine contamination while meeting functional requirements for packaging and consumer products.

2025 Tendencias en energías renovables y sustentabilidad .
Article Tier 2

Biodegradable Packaging Materials for Foods Preservation: Sources, Advantages, Limitations, and Future Perspectives

This review examines biodegradable packaging materials derived from natural sources as alternatives to conventional petroleum-based plastics for food preservation. Researchers found that materials made from polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids can effectively extend food shelf life while being more environmentally friendly. The study acknowledges that cost and performance limitations remain, but highlights recent advances in combining these natural materials with antimicrobial and antioxidant agents to improve their practical viability.

2023 Coatings 87 citations
Article Tier 2

Polímeros biodegradables como alternativa para reducir la producción y el consumo de productos elaborados con plástico

This Spanish-language review examined biodegradable polymers as alternatives to conventional plastics, noting that conventional plastics fragment into microplastics that contaminate food and water sources and harm organisms. The review argues that switching to biodegradable alternatives is essential for reducing the global microplastic burden.

2021 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Biodegradable materials based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly (lactic acid) (PLA) with antioxidant and antimicrobial activity for food packaging applications

Researchers developed biodegradable food packaging films by combining poly(vinyl alcohol) and polylactic acid with natural antioxidants and antimicrobials. The resulting films extended food shelf life and degraded in the environment unlike conventional plastic packaging. Replacing petroleum-based plastic food packaging with biodegradable alternatives could significantly reduce microplastic contamination from packaging waste.

2021 1 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

A Review on Biopolymer-Based Biodegradable Film for Food Packaging: Trends over the Last Decade and Future Research

This systematic review explores biodegradable packaging made from natural materials like starch and proteins as alternatives to conventional plastics. Reducing plastic packaging is important because traditional plastics break down into microplastics that contaminate food and the environment.

2023 Polymers 138 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic Alternatives: Biodegradable Solutions and Their Real-World Impact

This review examines biodegradable alternatives to conventional plastics, evaluating biopolymers such as polylactic acid, polyhydroxyalkanoates, and starch-based composites for their practical performance, cost-efficiency, and real-world environmental impact as substitutes for petroleum-based plastic packaging.

2025 International Journal of Integrated Research and Practice
Article Tier 2

Recent trends in the application of films and coatings based on starch, cellulose, chitin, chitosan, xanthan, gellan, pullulan, Arabic gum, alginate, pectin, and carrageenan in food packaging

This review covers the latest advances in using natural polysaccharides like starch, chitosan, and cellulose to create biodegradable food packaging as an alternative to petroleum-based plastics. Replacing conventional plastic packaging with these biopolymer-based materials could help reduce the generation of microplastics that contaminate food and ultimately enter the human body.

2024 Food Frontiers 90 citations
Article Tier 2

Biocomposites and Poly(lactic acid) in Active Packaging: A Review of Current Research and Future Directions

This review examines how bio-based and biodegradable materials, especially polylactic acid (PLA), are being developed as sustainable alternatives for food packaging. While these materials aim to reduce petroleum-based plastic pollution, the review notes that biodegradable plastics can still break down into microplastics during their degradation process. Understanding the full lifecycle of these alternative materials is important for determining whether they truly reduce microplastic contamination.

2024 Polymers 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Starch/Pectin as Emerging Renewable Materials for Fabrication of Sustainable Bioplastics for Food Packaging Applications

Not relevant to microplastics — this paper describes the development of biodegradable food packaging films made from plant-based starch, pectin, and chitosan, focused on replacing conventional plastics rather than studying their pollution.

2023 Research Square (Research Square)
Article Tier 2

Material and Environmental Properties of Natural Polymers and Their Composites for Packaging Applications—A Review

This review assessed the material and environmental properties of natural polymers including cellulose, starch, chitosan, and protein for food packaging applications, comparing their performance to conventional plastics. The authors found that natural polymer composites can approach the tensile strength and water vapor barrier properties needed for packaging while offering significant environmental benefits at end of life.

2022 Polymers 69 citations
Article Tier 2

Bio-Based Materials for Packaging

This review evaluates bio-based materials as sustainable alternatives for plastic packaging, examining the environmental performance, mechanical properties, and commercial viability of biopolymers in addressing the global plastic pollution crisis.

2022 International Journal of Molecular Sciences 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring the Role of Chitosan in Fabricating Biodegradable Films for Functional Food Packaging: A Review

This review examines the use of chitosan — a biopolymer derived from crustacean shells — in fabricating biodegradable food packaging films, evaluating its mechanical, antimicrobial, and barrier properties as a sustainable alternative to conventional plastics.

2023 Journal of Young Pharmacists 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Research progress of biomass-based food packaging materials

This review examines biomass-based food packaging materials — including starch, cellulose, proteins, and chitosan — as renewable and biodegradable alternatives to petroleum-based packaging, discussing development strategies to address current shortcomings in environmental performance, food safety, and functional diversity in the context of growing global microplastic pollution from packaging.

2025 SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología
Article Tier 2

A Comprehensive Review of Biodegradable Polymer-Based Films and Coatings and Their Food Packaging Applications

This review covers the development of biodegradable polymer-based films and coatings as alternatives to conventional plastic food packaging. While these bio-based materials reduce long-term environmental pollution, the review notes that they can still break down into microplastic particles under certain conditions. The shift to biodegradable packaging may reduce but not eliminate the food packaging contribution to microplastic pollution and human exposure.

2022 Materials 221 citations
Article Tier 2

Biofilms Production from Avocado Waste

Researchers developed biofilms from starch and cellulose extracted from avocado peels and seeds as potential biodegradable food packaging materials. These plant-based packaging alternatives could replace petroleum-based plastics that break down into persistent microplastics.

2021 Ingenieria y Universidad 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent Advances in Polyvinyl Alcohol–Based Biodegradable Packaging: Preparation, Modification, and Applications in Food Packaging

This review examines polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a promising biodegradable alternative to conventional plastic food packaging, summarizing recent advances in how PVA films are prepared and modified to improve their performance. Researchers highlight methods for making PVA more water-resistant and better at blocking gases, which are key challenges for food packaging applications. The findings suggest that PVA-based materials could help reduce microplastic contamination from traditional plastic packaging.

2025 Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Advancements in the biopolymer films for food packaging applications: a short review

This review covers advances in biodegradable biopolymer films being developed to replace conventional plastic food packaging, which breaks down into microplastics that contaminate soil and water. While these plant-based alternatives show promise for reducing microplastic pollution, they still need improvements in strength and durability before they can compete with conventional plastics at commercial scale.

2024 Biotechnology for Sustainable Materials 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Desarrollo de biopelículas degradables a partir de harina de fruta de pan (Artocarpus altilis), como alternativa al uso de plásticos sintéticos convencionales

Biodegradable biofilms were developed from breadfruit flour (Artocarpus altilis) as a sustainable alternative to conventional synthetic plastic packaging. The biofilms were characterized for physical, mechanical, and barrier properties, offering a compostable food packaging material that reduces microplastic waste.

2024 Tierra Infinita
Article Tier 2

Edible Biopolymers-Based Materials for Food Applications—The Eco Alternative to Conventional Synthetic Packaging

This review examines edible biopolymer-based packaging materials including proteins, polysaccharides, and lipids as eco-friendly alternatives to conventional synthetic packaging, evaluating their mechanical properties, barrier performance, and biodegradability for food applications.

2021 Polymers 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Revisión:aplicación de la nanotecnología como innovación en recubrimientos alimentarios

Not relevant to microplastics — this Spanish-language review covers nanotechnology applications in biodegradable food coatings as alternatives to synthetic plastic packaging, mentioning microplastics only in the context of motivating the search for alternatives rather than studying plastic pollution itself.

2024 PÄDI Boletín Científico de Ciencias Básicas e Ingenierías del ICBI 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Advances and recent trends in plant-based materials and edible films: a mini-review

This review highlights recent advances in plant-based packaging materials and edible films made from natural polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids as sustainable alternatives to conventional plastic packaging. Researchers explored how 3D printing and functionalization strategies can enhance the mechanical strength, barrier properties, and shelf-life extension of these materials. The findings point toward a growing toolkit of biodegradable options that could help reduce plastic waste in food packaging.

2024 Frontiers in Chemistry 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Agar-Agar and Chitosan as Precursors in the Synthesis of Functional Film for Foods: A Review

This paper is not about microplastics; it reviews the use of agar-agar and chitosan biopolymers to develop sustainable natural packaging films for the food industry.

2023 Macromol—A Journal of Macromolecular Research 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Biomimetic Design of Biodegradable Polymer Films for Sustainable Food Packaging: Integrating Indigenous Material Wisdom with Modern Chemistry

This paper is not primarily about microplastic pollution; it describes the development of biodegradable food packaging films from biopolymers like chitosan and alginate as a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based plastics, with the goal of preventing microplastic generation at the source rather than studying existing contamination.

2026 International Journal of Applied and Behavioral Sciences
Article Tier 2

Environmental Impact of Food Packaging Materials: A Review of Contemporary Development from Conventional Plastics to Polylactic Acid Based Materials

This review examined the environmental impacts of conventional food packaging plastics and assessed biopolymer alternatives such as PLA, discussing production from renewable feedstocks, material performance properties, and the potential for bioplastics to reduce fossil plastic waste in the packaging sector.

2020 Materials 627 citations