Chitosan‐Based Nanoparticles and Their Applications in Food Industry

Abstract

Today, nanotechnology has a promising role in food industry regarding all aspects of food processing and packaging. Using nanoforms can significantly boost the nutritional and organoleptic qualities of food commodities. Therefore, as a robust polymer, chitosan has been extensively exploited as vehicle, owing to its remarkable qualities such as biocompatibility and biodegradability. Countless methods and practices have been as of late utilized for the improvement of chitosan-based nanoparticles to be applied in food processing and packaging. Researchers have developed numerous nanoforms of chitosan such as nanoparticles, nanocapsules, nanoemulsions, and nanocomposites that have been viably useful for nanoencapsulation of a wide scope of bioactive compounds including vitamins, essential oils, fish oils, antioxidants, etc. The present chapter will give an investigation about the up-to-date and possible chitosan-based nanoparticles implementations in the food manufacturing field and the challenges facing its acceptance to the consumers.