Importance of electrospun chitosan-based nanoscale materials for seafood products safety

Fish fillets can be coated/treated with nanoscale chitosan using the electrospinning technique. To obtain successfully nanoscale chitosan, the determination of molecular weight, concentration, solvent system of chitosan, and electrospinning parameters should be optimized. Therefore especially, applied voltage, distance, flow rate, environmental conditions, and collector type in the electrospinning unit should also be well defined. The electrospun chitosan-based nanoscale materials have functional and structural advantages since they provide high encapsulation efficiency, a large surface-to-volume ratio, and good stability of encapsulated bioactive compounds such as thymol. Morphological properties, encapsulation efficiency, thermal stability properties, zeta potential, and size of the electrospun chitosan-based nanoscale materials could also affect the shelf life of aquatic food products. Furthermore, chitosan-based nanofibers and nanoparticles, as well as bioactive material(s)-loaded chitosan-based nanofibers delay the microbiological spoilage, physical and chemical deterioration, as well as sensory changes. Therefore this chapter highlights that chitosan-based nanoscale materials could prolong the shelf life of seafood products. Consequently, the use of characterized chitosan-based nanoscale material(s) can be a promising and cost-effective technique to maintain seafood products safety.