The nanocomposites blending route brings the nanotechnology to widespread mainstream applications such as packaging made of plastics and bioplastics to generate new food contact materials with enhanced performance.These materials exhibit thanks to the unusually high aspect to volume ratio of the highly dispersed nanoadditives improved mechanical,thermal,UV protection and barrier properties while maintaining to a high extend good inherent properties of the matrix such as clarity and toughness,and can also be advantageously designed for controlled release of active or bioactive substances.Within the increasing family of nanomaterials,novel nanolayered clay-based additives(Second Generation Nanocomposites)are without doubt the most interesting fillers from a commercial implementation point of view.Second generation nanocomposites and nanobiocomposites describe novel nanobioadditives that are(i)environmentally friendly,(ii)specifically designed for enhancing properties of specific materials while maintaining clarity and that(iii)make only use of food contact approved components and precursors;these characteristics makes them safe,bio-complying and readily applicable in current packaging applications without the need for changes in legislation.This paper presents the comparative performance of several properties of a new range of nanobiocomposites of polylactic acid,polycaprolactone,polyhydroxyalcanoates and of nanocomposites of conventional polymers(EVOH and PET)and highlights the potential of this nanotechnology for the controlled release of substances of interest in antimicrobial and bioactive packaging.
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