Electrically conductive bioplastics based on chitosan, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, and plant extract nanoparticles for detecting Rhizopus stolonifer on tomato fruit

This work aimed to manufacture bioplastics with mechanical and electrical properties for monitoring the Rhizopus stolonifer growth in tomato fruit packaging. Bioplastics were based on chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol (Ch/PVA), chitosan/polyvinyl pyrrolidone (Ch/PVP), and nanoparticles (NPs) of plant extracts at 10% and 30% of concentrations. Bioplastics were exposed to tomato inoculated with R. stolonifer for 6 d at 25°C. Water vapor permeability (WVP), mechanical properties, FTIR, UV–vis, morphology, electrical resistance of bioplastics, and the NPs size were assessed. In bioplastics added with plant extracts, 1.5 times more WVP than in the control group (18–35 gs−1m−1Pa−1) were quantified. Ch/PVA bioplastic showed 51% more tensile strength, 44% more elongation at break, and 40% more Young's modulus than Ch/PVP, regardless of the plant extract. The electrical resistance in Ch/PVA bioplastics with 30% mushroom extract and 10% radish allowed the differentiation between inoculated (109–1010 Ω) and non‐inoculated tomatoes (1010–1011 Ω). The FTIR assay confirmed the presence of each compound used in the bioplastic, and UV–vis confirmed phenols at 300 nm. The NPs measured less than 50 nm. Only Ch/PVA with 30% mushroom and 10% radish can be useful to monitor fungi in tomatoes based on their electrical behavior. Electrically conductive bioplastics.