The growingsocialandeconomicconsequencesofpollutionderivedfromplasticsarefocusingattention
on theneedtoproducenovelbioprocessesforenhancingfoodshelf-life.Asaconsequence,inrecent
years theuseofediblefilmsforfoodpackagingisgeneratingahugescientificinterest.Inthiswork
we reporttheproductionofanediblehydrocolloidfilmmadebyusing Citrus pectin andtheprotein
phaseolin crosslinkedbymicrobialtransglutaminase,anenzymeabletocovalentlymodifyproteinsby
formation ofisopeptidebondsbetweenglutamineandlysineresidues.Thefilmswerecharacterizedand
their morphologywasevaluatedbybothatomicforcemicroscopyandscanningelectronmicroscopy.
Mechanical propertiesandbarrierpropertiestoCO2, O2 and watervaporhavedemonstratedthatthese
films possesstechnologicalfeaturescomparabletothosepossessedbycommercialplastics.Itisworth
noting thatthesecharacteristicsaremaintainedevenfollowingstorageofthefilmsat4 ◦C or −20 ◦C,
suggesting thatourbioplasticscanbetailoredtoprotectfoodatlowtemperature.Moreover,gastric
and duodenaldigestionstudiesconductedunderthesameconditionsfoundinthehumandigestion
system havedemonstratedthattransglutaminase-containingfilmsareregularlydigestedencouraging
an applicationoftheproposedmaterialsasfoodcoatings.