Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Polymer Engineering and Science, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
The growing interest to ensure food safety requires the development of smart indicator systems that are capable of real-time tracking of spoilage, particularly for perishable foods. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to fabricate eco-friendly, industrially viable pH-sensitive smart films via solvent-free melt-compounding, bypassing the limitations of solution casting. Smart films were produced by incorporating red cabbage anthocyanin (ANT) into bio-based poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) matrix via melt compounding and compression molding at 135°C. Morphological, structural, thermal, mechanical, and functional properties were examined as a function of ANT loading rate (1–10 wt%). Thermal and tensile tests revealed that increasing ANT loading rate led to a reduction in crystallinity (from 47% to 37%) and tensile strength (from 13 to 2 MPa), while antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) was significantly enhanced at loading rates ≥ 5 wt%. Thermal stability remained sufficient for melt compounding, with initial degradation temperatures exceeding 190°C. Particularly, 5ANT and 10ANT films showed distinct color transitions from red to purple/blue across a pH range of 2–12. These films also demonstrated pH-sensitive color changes when applied to real-time tracking of chicken breast spoilage over 4 days, confirming their efficacy as industrially scalable freshness indicators.