FATTY-ACID CONCENTRATION-EFFECT ON TENSILE-STRENGTH, ELONGATION, AND WATER-VAPOR PERMEABILITY OF LAMINATED EDIBLE FILMS

Water vapor permeability (WVP), tensile strength (TS), and elongation (E) were investigated in laminated methyl cellulose/corn zein-fatty ac id films, They were prepared by casting corn zein-fatty acid solutions onto methyl cellulose films. WVP decreased as chain length and concen tration of fatty acids increased. The TS of laminated edible film cont aining palmitic acid decreased as palmitic acid increased. The TS of f ilms containing stearic-palmitic acid blends showed similar trends but there were no significant differences among blends. The TS of the fil m containing lauric acid was maximum at 30% lauric acid concentration. The E values for films containing fatty acids varied inversely with T S.