Virginia Tech researchers have developed a solution for sachets that is said to reduce food waste and help sticky foods release from their packaging.
A new study, which was published in Scientific Reports and has yielded a provisional patent, establishes a method for wicking chemically compatible vegetable oils into the surfaces of common extruded plastics.
The technique can be applied to inexpensive and readily available plastics such as polyethylene and polypropylene.
The study’s lead author Ranit Mukherjee said: “Previous SLIPS, or slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces, have been made using silicon- or fluorine-based polymers, which are very expensive.
“But we can make our SLIPS out of these hydrocarbon-based polymers, which are widely applicable to everyday packaged products.”
First created by Harvard University researchers in 2011, SLIPS are porous surfaces or absorbent polymers that can hold a chemically compatible oil within their surfaces via the process of wicking.
In order for SLIPS to hold these oils, the surfaces must have some sort of nano- or micro-roughness, which keeps the oil in place by way of surface tension.
Study co-author Jonathan Boreyko said: “We had two big breakthroughs. Not only are we using these hydrocarbon-based polymers that are cheap and in high demand, but we don’t have to add any surface roughness either.
“We actually found oils that are naturally compatible with the plastics, so these oils are wicking into the plastic itself, not into a roughness we have to apply.”
In addition to minimising food waste, Boreyko cited other benefits to the improved design, including consumer safety and comfort.
“We’re not adding any mystery nanoparticles to the surfaces of these plastics that could make people uncomfortable,” he said. “We use natural oils like cottonseed oil, so there are no health concerns whatsoever. There’s no fancy recipe required.”
The technique finds its roots in the pitcher plant, a carnivorous plant that entices insects to the edge of a deep cavity filled with nectar and digestive enzymes. The leaves that form the plant’s shape have a slippery ring, created by a secreted liquid, around the periphery of the cavity.
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