Gelatin‒carboxymethyl cellulose film incorporated porphyrin metal–organic frameworks with photodynamic/photothermal synergistic antibacterial activities for pork packaging application

To protect the food contents from the exterior environmental stimulus and microbial contamination, herein, a photodynamic and photothermal synergistic antibacterial film (PP/GC film), as food packaging material, was synthesized by a solution-casting method. In brief, the film utilized gelatin‒carboxymethyl cellulose (GC) as the matrix for accommodating PCN@PDA nanoparticles (PPNPs), a porphyrin metal‒organic framework (PCN‒224) coating with a polydopamine layer. Various characterizations were implemented to demonstrate the successful formation of PPNPs, which simultaneously exhibited the methyl orange photodegradation ability and the photothermal conversion capability under 660 nm irradiation. The incorporation of 5% wt PPNPs significantly improved the mechanical properties, water barrier properties and UV shielding performance of the films. Notably, the PP/GC films had efficient antibacterial activity within short periods of irradiation time. Moreover, the as‒prepared films significantly improved the storage safety of pork, which can be a good development prospect in the food industry.