International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2014 1

Original article
Characterisation of composite edible films based on wheat starch
and whey-protein isolate

Ewelina Basiak, Sabina Galus* & Andrzej Lenart

Department of Food Engineering and Process Management, Faculty of Food Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW
(WULS-SGGW), 159c Nowoursynowska St., 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
(Received 29 April 2014; Accepted in revised form 2 July 2014)

Summary Composite films prepared by casting wheat starch and whey-protein isolate at proportions of 100–0%, 75–
25%, 50–50%, 25–75% and 0–100% were characterised. Combination of both substances gave continuous
and homogeneous films. The more the starch is in a film, the more dull is the appearance. The highest water
adsorption was observed for pure whey-protein films and the lowest for pure wheat starch films with the
final water content of 0.264 and 0.324 g water g d.m.
1, respectively. An exponential equation well fitted
the experimental data of water vapour kinetics (R2 ≥ 0.99). The highest values of thickness and elongation
at break were observed for films obtained by blending of wheat starch and whey protein. With the increas-
ing content of whey-protein isolate, the values of the swelling index and tensile strength increased from
34.31% to 71.01% and from 2.29 to 8.90 MPa, respectively. The values of water vapour permeability
depended on humidity conditions and decreased slightly with the increasing content of whey-protein isolate.
Keywords Edible films, mechanical properties, microstructure, moisture, wheat starch, whey protein.

about 90% dry matter) (Schmidt et al., 2013). It is

Introduction
usually accumulated in tubers, seeds and roots (Ara-
As the majority of trash generated by households con- ujo-Farro et al., 2010). The biggest sources of starch
sists of materials used to package food and other for the industry are corn, wheat, cassava, potato and
necessities, it should be evident that whenever possible quite recently rediscovered amaranth and quinoa (Ara-
easily recyclable of biodegradable materials should be ujo-Farro et al., 2010). Native and modified starches
used instead of currently commonly used copolymers play an important role (Liu, 2005).
of ethylene, polypropylene and other materials that Proteins are functional components used on a wide
are difficult to utilise (Prakash Maran et al., 2013). An scale in the food industry. They can be used to pro-
excellent alternative to many of those materials would duce a wide selection of food products (Talja et al.,
be to use edible and/or biodegradable coatings and 2008; Schmidt et al., 2013). In recent years, whey pro-
films. They can reduce packaging waste associated teins are becoming increasingly popular. This is
with processed foods. In addition, edible films and because they have high nutritional value and a useful
coatings are environmentally friendly materials which configuration of molecules. They contain amino acids,
can promote the quality and convenience of minimally essential for proper functioning of the human body,
processed foods. By affecting respiration, they can which it cannot produce itself. In addition, they are
modify metabolism of fruits and vegetable tissue easily absorbed by humans. Whey proteins are
(Lopez et al., 2008; Martins et al., 2012). obtained by separation of substances in the ultrafiltra-
One of the most abundantly occurring biopolymers tion process of protein substance and its drying. Whey
in nature is starch. It is an inexpensive (much cheaper proteins have high content of a-lactoglobulins. It is
than polyethylene), widely available and biodegradable the reason that they have similar properties to human
material. Furthermore, it is edible, tasteless, colourless milk proteins (Gounga et al., 2007).
and easily used in treatment technology – it is easy to Many polysaccharide-based films and pure whey-pro-
colour or add flavours and other components. Starch tein films are very brittle because they have a large
is the main resource of energy in higher plants (up to cohesive energy. To overcome this, they need the incor-
poration of plasticisers to reduce this force by reducing
*Correspondent: Fax: +48 22 59 37 576;
the intermolecular hydrogen bonding occurring between
e-mail: sabina_galus@sggw.pl

doi:10.1111/ijfs.12628
© 2014 Institute of Food Science and Technology
2 Wheat starch/whey protein composite films E. Basiak et al.

the polymer chains (Oses et al., 2009; Murillo-Martınez Films were dried at 25 °C and 40% of relative humid-
et al., 2011; Jimenez et al., 2012). There are several ways ity (RH) for 24 h. Thus, the films were peeled off and
to obtain coatings and films from starch and whey pro- conditioned at 53  1% RH and 25  1 °C for 7 days
teins. They include casting, injection, extrusion, thermo prior to testing. The time of 48 h widely used for edi-
moulding, blowing and sheeting. During the manufac- ble films was not sufficient to obtain the films with
ture of coatings and films, the main aim is to obtain desired state (Galus & Lenart, 2013).
homogeneous material, thin and strong (Fu et al.,
2011). Films made from one type of film-forming sub-
Water content
stance often have limited properties. To improve the
process, several mixtures of biopolymers are used. That Water content was measured by determination of the
is because films which consist of 2–3 types of substances weight loss of the film after 24 h of drying at 105 °C.
have better properties than those made from a single Measurements were repeated three times (Araujo-Far-
type (Kurek et al., 2014). ro et al., 2010).
The aim of the study was to investigate physical
properties of composite edible films based on wheat
Thickness
starch and whey-protein isolate, including thickness,
swelling index, water solubility, colour, tensile strength, Film thickness was measured with an electronic gauge
elongation at break, water vapour permeability, sorp- (METRISON, Poland). Precision of the measurement
tion properties and microstructure of composite films. was 1 lm. Prior to film thickness measurements, the
electronic gauge was calibrated at 74 and 139 lm
using standards. Thickness of each film was measured
Materials and methods
in five places, one in the centre part of the film and
four around its perimeter, and a mean value was used
Materials
in the calculations (Galus & Lenart, 2013).
The native wheat starch containing 26% of amylose
and 84% of amylopectin (WS, min. 97% of starch,
Swelling index
0.3% protein, 0.2% ash, 13% moisture, pH 6.0) was
supplied by Hortimex (Konin, Poland). The whey-pro- The samples were prepared from five different films of
tein isolate (WPI, 97.7% protein, 0.2% fat, 2.0% ash, the same kind. They were cut into 2 9 2 cm pieces
4.9% moisture, pH 6.9) BiPRO was obtained from and weighed. They were then immersed in distilled
Davisco Foods International Inc. (Le Sueur, MN, water (25 °C) for 2 min. Wet samples were wiped with
USA). Anhydrous glycerol and silica gel were pur- filter paper to remove excess liquid and weighed. The
chased from POCH S.A. (Gliwice, Poland). Saturated amount of adsorbed water was calculated in percent-
salt solution of sodium chloride (POCH, Gliwice, ages. The measurement was repeated for each type of
Poland) was used to investigate water vapour perme- film three times, and the arithmetic mean was taken as
ability and water vapour sorption kinetics at relative the final result.
humidity 75.3% and temperature 25 °C.
Water solubility
Film preparation
Films were cut into 2 9 2 cm pieces and dried at
Film-forming aqueous solutions were prepared by 105 °C for 24 h. After drying, films were weighed
casting wheat starch and whey-protein isolate in the exactly to 0.0001 g, which makes up their dry mat-
following proportions: 100–0%, 75–25%, 50–50%, 25– ter. Films were individually placed in 50 mL beakers
75% and 0–100%. Glycerol was used as a plasticiser filled with 20 mL of distilled water, capped and stored
at 50% (% w/w of materials) to obtain the films not at 25  1 °C for 24 h. Film pieces were then taken
brittle, broke or cracked. Wheat starch film-forming out and dried at 105 °C for 24 h to determine the final
solutions were prepared by dissolving whey starch weight of dry matter. These steps were repeated three
powder in distilled water (5%). Whey-protein film- times. Loss of total soluble matter was calculated from
forming solutions were also prepared by dissolving the initial and final dry weight of films (Gontard et al.,
WPI in distilled water (5%). The solutions were sepa- 1994).
rately heated in a water bath with shaker under a
700 g at 85 °C for 30 min to fully gelatinise the starch
Colour
and to denature the whey protein, and then, they were
cooled down (Chen et al., 2007). Volume of each film- Colour of films was determined with a colorimeter (Mi-
forming solution poured onto a plate was controlled nolta, Model CR-300, Japan) using the CIELAB col-
and always the same to obtain the final film thickness. our parameters: L*, from black (0) to white (100); a*,

International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2014 © 2014 Institute of Food Science and Technology
 Wheat starch/whey protein composite films E. Basiak et al. 3

from green (
) to red (+); and b*, from blue (
) to yel- Texture Analyser (Stable Microsystems, Godalming,
low (+) (Gennadios et al., 1996). Colour of films was Surrey, UK) according to the ASTM D882-95 method
expressed as the total colour difference (ΔE) according (ASTM, 1995). Self-tightening roller grips were used
to the following equation (Sobral et al., 2005): to perform tensile tests. The initial distance between
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi the grips and the initial velocity were adjusted to
DE ¼ ðDL Þ2 þ ðDa Þ2 þ ðDb Þ2 ð1Þ 50 mm and 1 mm s
1. Mechanical properties were
calculated using the arithmetic mean of thickness of
where ΔL*, Δa* and Δb* – the differentials between each film sample.
the colour parameter of a standard used as the film
background (L* = 96.74, a* = 0.09, b* = 2.20) and the
sample colour parameter. Microstructure
Film microstructure was observed under a scanning
Water vapour sorption kinetics electron microscope (Quanta 200, FEI, Brno, Czech
Republic). A 0.5 9 0.5 cm film was fixed on the sup-
Measurement of water vapour sorption kinetics was port using silver paste, at an angle of 90° to the sur-
conducted in at least three repetitions for each type of face, which allowed observation of the cross-section of
film under conditions of constant temperature of 25 °C the film. Films were observed at a magnification of
and relative humidity of 75.3%. The samples 5009 (view) and 15009 (cross-section).
(2 9 2 cm) were removed from the dessicator and
weighed periodically for 158 h (until the samples
reached a constant mass). The experimental absorbed Statistical analysis
moisture content values were averaged and fitted by an Statistical analysis was performed with the program
exponential equation (Kowalska et al., 2006) as follows: Statgraphics Plus, version 5.0 (Manugistics Corp.,
u ¼ a þ bð1
expð
csÞ Þ ð2Þ Rockville, MD, USA). The analysis of variance (ANO-

1 VA) and Fisher’s LSD multiple comparisons were per-
where u – water content (g water g d.m. ), a, b and c formed to detect significant differences in properties of
– constant parameters of equation, s – time (h). films. The significance level used was 0.001.
The adequacy of the fitted exponential equation was
Water vapour permeability evaluated by the determination coefficient (R2) and
mean relative error (MRE) using the following equa-
Water vapour permeability of films was measured tions:
gravimetrically according to Debeaufort et al. (1993). Pn
Film samples were placed between two rubber-based ðup
ue Þ2
rings on the top of three glass cells containing the fol- R ¼ Pi¼1
2
ð4Þ
n
i¼1 ðue
ue Þ2
lowing: silica gel (the first one), sodium chloride (the  
second one) and distilled water (the third one). By 100 X ue
up 
such means, the internal relative humanity (RH) of MRE ¼   u  ð5Þ
n e
permeation cells at 75% and 100% was obtained. In
addition, these permeation cells were placed in a venti- where n – number of observations; up – predicted
lated chamber with maintained RH of 30% and tem- water content (g water g d.m.
1); ue – average water
perature of 25 °C. Water vapour permeability was content (g water g d.m.
1); ue – experimental water
calculated using the following equation: content (g water g d.m.
1).
Dm  e
WVP ¼ ð3Þ
A  Dt  Dp Results and discussion
where Dm/Dt – weight of moisture loss per unit of time First of all, during the production of composite films,
(g s
1), A – film area exposed to moisture transfer some limitations related to the film formulation had to
(8.04 9 10
4 m2), e – film thickness (m) and Dp – be taken into account. The preparation of films based
water vapour pressure difference between two sides of on two different materials such as starch and protein
the film (Pa). Measurements were performed at least is difficult due to the isolubilisation of one of the poly-
three times. mers or to the formation of insoluble complexes
between them, especially when these two materials
have not the same pH value (6.0 for wheat starch and
Mechanical properties
6.9 for whey protein). The formation of film structure
Tensile strength and elongation at break of the films depends on the starch – protein interaction and its
(10 9 2.5 cm) were measured ten times using a TA-XT2i miscibility.

© 2014 Institute of Food Science and Technology International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2014
4 Wheat starch/whey protein composite films E. Basiak et al.

cast 28 mL of film-forming solution with K-carra-

Thickness
geenan and locust bean gum of 6 different concentra-
The thickness of starch, starch-protein isolate and pro- tions into polystyrene Petri dishes, and they also
tein isolate films are shown in Table 1. The thickness obtained results dependent on starch and K-carra-
of all films ranged from 87 to 110 lm. For all films, geenan/locust bean gum ratio from 39 to 61 lm. Simi-
the same amount of film-forming solution was casted. lar results have been previously reported for potato
The films made from pure starch or protein isolate starch films with other ratios of plasticisers (Rodrıguez
were the thinnest (pure wheat starch films and pure et al., 2006) and for wheat films, for which Roy et al.
whey-protein films) while the ones made from starch (2000) obtained results of 83  2 lm.
and protein isolate mixture were thicker than the ones
made from a single ingredient. The film formation dur-
Swelling index
ing the drying process was different. Debeaufort &
Voilley (1995)observed that thickness of a liquid film- The results of film swelling research can be clearly seen
forming dispersion affects also the drying kinetics, in Table 1. The results show that pure starch films
which may cause differences in the film structure. have the lowest swelling index. It was also observed
There are several methods to obtain controlled thick- that addition of protein isolate to starch causes a great
ness of a final film. Among them, application of con- increase of the swelling index. The pure starch films
stant volume on a specified surface is more popular. have a swelling index of 34% while the pure protein
When the same volume on the same surface was used isolate films have a swelling index of 72%, which is
for all film-forming solutions, the differences in film more than twice as high as for pure starch films. The
thickness depend on the components interaction. The addition of 25% whey-protein isolate to wheat starch
formation of the film structure during drying affects causes an increase of the swelling index to 46%. This
the film thickness. means that the swelling index rose by 35% in compari-
The films for which the starch and protein isolate son with the pure starch sample. In turn, a further
proportions (75% starch and 25% protein isolate films increase of protein isolate content does not cause a sig-
and 25% starch and 75% protein isolate films) were nificant increase of the swelling index. Increase of pro-
1:3 or 3:1 had a similar thickness, but they were tein isolate to 50% and 75% increases the swelling
thicker than pure ones. 50% of starch – 50% of pro- index to 49.4% and 51.4%. This means that a further
tein isolate films with protein isolate and starch ratio increase of protein isolate contents does not cause a
1:1 – were the thickest from among all samples. Thick- meaningful increase of the swelling index. In conclu-
ness was the lowest for pure starch films and pure pro- sion, the addition of protein isolate to starch films
tein isolate films and the highest for films in a ratio results in creation of a product with an increased value
1:1. The thickness value for 75% starch and 25% pro- of the swelling index. As in the case of water vapour
tein isolate films was between the value for pure starch permeability, more whey-protein isolate in the wheat
films and films in a ratio 1:1 and for 25% starch and starch film structure entails an increase of water. This
25% protein isolate films was between the value for means that films made from protein isolate or with an
films in a ratio 1:1 and pure protein isolate films. It admixture of protein isolate are distinguished by
implies that addition of starch to protein isolate or higher hygroscopy than pure starch ones or with a
protein isolate to starch in the same proportion causes smaller amount of whey-protein isolate.
an increase of films’ thickness. Martins et al. (2012)
Water solubility
Table 1 Thickness, swelling index, water solubility of wheat starch/ Values of water solubility of different types of starch,
whey-protein isolate films. (A: 100% wheat starch; B: 75% wheat starch-protein isolate and protein isolate films are
starch + 25% whey protein; C: 50% wheat starch + 50% whey shown in Table 1. Both pure starch films and protein
protein; D: 25% wheat starch + 75% whey protein; E: 100% whey
isolate films have similar values (respectively 13% and
protein)
16%).
Film Thickness (lm) Swelling index (%) Water solubility (%) Starch-protein isolate films have significantly differ-
ent values depending on the proportions of starch and
A 87.4  3.8a
34.31  2.7a
8.37  3.9a protein isolate. In the case of films with a starch and
B 95.2  7.0b 46.03  0.7b 18.32  3.1b protein isolate ratio of 1:3, the value of water solubil-
C 109.3  8.4c 49.36  1.6c 10.53  3.8a
ity decreases considerably in comparison with pure
D 98.9  6.8b 51.40  2.6c 8.68  1.0b
protein isolate or starch films. In films with a starch
E 88.7  5.8a 72.01  4.3d 17.46  1.7a
and protein isolate ratio of 3:1, the value of water sol-
a–d
Values with different superscripts within columns are significantly ubility is the highest, even if it is compared to the
different (P < 0.001). results of pure protein isolate or starch films. Schmidt

International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2014 © 2014 Institute of Food Science and Technology
 Wheat starch/whey protein composite films E. Basiak et al. 5

et al. (2013) analysed the films based on cassava starch films in a ratio of 1:1 and pure protein isolate films.
and stearic acid and they noted that water solubility Analogically, samples containing 75% starch and 25%
increased with the higher concentration of stearic acid. protein isolate and 25% starch and 75% protein iso-
Lower values for water solubility could be the result late are of much higher values than the pure ones
of greater interaction between components of these (pure starch films and pure protein isolate films) and
structures. the one with a ratio of 1:1 (50S-50WP). Galus & Len-
art (2013) obtained values of ΔE of alginate/pectin
films between 1.90 and 5.49 and noted that ΔE
Colour
increased significantly with the higher content of
One of the most important parameters of food prod- pectin.
ucts, crucial for consumer’s choice, is colour. Table 2
shows colour parameters for investigated films.
Water sorption kinetics
According to the obtained results of lightness, three
homogeneous groups were observed. The first group Figure 1 shows water sorption kinetics of whey-protein
constitutes starch films (100S-0WP), starch-protein isolate/wheat starch films at relative humidity of
isolate films 1:1 (50S-50WP) and protein isolate films 75.3%. The highest water adsorption was observed for
(0S-100WP). Their values are of a similar level, and pure whey-protein films and the lowest for pure wheat
their amounts are 95.62, 95.41 and 95.39. The value starch films. Final water content was 0.264 and
for the standard (white plate) is 96.74. This means that 0.324 g water g d.m.
1, in pure wheat starch and pure
samples which are in the first homogeneous group are whey-protein films, respectively. Because of the hydro-
of high lightness. The second homogeneous group philic nature of whey protein and wheat starch, high
constitutes a sample with 75% wheat starch and 25% water vapour adsorption was observed for all investi-
whey-protein isolate. Its value is 94.23. The last homo- gated films. All of the analysed films reached their
geneous group consists of a sample with 25% wheat state of equilibrium within the 24-h timeframe set for
starch and 75% whey-protein isolate. Also in this case, the tests. Water vapour sorption kinetic curves had a
the value is quite similar (94.78), which means that this similar course for investigated films. Sorption is depen-
kind of film is transparent, too. dent on relative humidity of the environment. The
Parameter a has minus values for four types of higher the relative humidity of the environment the
films. These are samples which contain starch. Their samples were stored in, the greater their ability to
values are between
0.10 and
0.81. This means that absorb water (Ciurzy nska et al., 2013). The highest
the colour of films changes to green. Parameter a for changes of dry mass for all films were observed during
whey-protein samples indicates a change of colour to the first 24 h.
red. Similar observations were obtained for other hydro-
Coefficient b values for samples of pure starch films, colloid films. Galus & Lenart (2013) observed an equi-
50% starch and 50% whey-protein films and pure librium state after 10 h of the kinetic process for pure
whey-protein films are of a similar level, and their pectin, pure alginate and composite pectin/alginate
amounts are 2.90, 3.62 and 3.92. Starch and protein films. Mali et al. (2005) also observed more rapid
isolate samples with a ratio of 3:1 (75S-25WP) and 1:3 moisture adsorption for cassava starch films at the ini-
(25S-75WP) have much higher values than the previ- tial stages of the storage at all relative humidity condi-
ous ones (pure starch films, films in a ratio of 1:1 and tions (32%, 58%, 90%). Moisture equilibrium time
pure protein isolate films). influenced by storage conditions was presented for soy
Values of total colour difference (ΔE) range from protein films as well (Cho & Rhee, 2002).
0.81 to 13.27. Similar to coefficient b, ΔE values show Measured water sorption curve data were fitted to
nearly the same trend for samples of pure starch films, an exponential equation. The constants a, b and c,

Table 2 L*, a* and b* colour values and

total colour difference (ΔE) of wheat starch/ Film
whey-proteins films; (A: 100% wheat starch; indication L* a* b* DE
B: 75% wheat starch + 25% whey protein;
A 95.62  0.40a

0.20  0.05a
2.90  0.16a
0.81  0.21a
C: 50% wheat starch + 50% whey protein;
B 94.23  0.87b
0.57  0.06b 4.52  0.85b 13.27  2.07d
D: 25% wheat starch + 75% whey protein;
C 95.41  0.22a
0.10  0.02c 3.62  0.22c 1.94  0.45a,b
E: 100% whey protein)
D 94.78  0.86c
0.81  0.14c 6.89  1.10d 4.73  2.14c
E 95.39  0.25a +0.15  0.05d 3.92  0.35c 2.42  0.81b

a–d
Values with different superscripts within columns are significantly different (P < 0.001).

© 2014 Institute of Food Science and Technology International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2014
6 Wheat starch/whey protein composite films E. Basiak et al.

0.4 Table 4 Water vapour permeability of wheat starch/whey-protein

composite films, (A: 100% wheat starch; B: 75% wheat starch +
25% whey protein; C: 50% wheat starch + 50% whey protein; D:
Absorbed water (g water g d.m.–1)

0.3 25% wheat starch + 75% whey protein; E: 100% whey protein)

Permeability (10
10 g m
1s
1 Pa
1)

0.2
Relative humidity differentials (%)

Film 0–30 30–75 30–100

0.1 A B C D E A 3.94  0.61a

6.11  0.21c,d
7.70  0.03f,g
B 4.34  0.31a,b 5.91  0.54c,d 7.45  0.70e,f,g
C 4.28  0.44a,b 6.61  0.88d,e,f 7.95  0.33g
0 D 4.60  0.75a,b 6.52  0.42d,e,f 6.88  0.40d,e,f,g
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 E 5.24  0.26b,c 6.37  0.57c,d,e 7.87  0.54g
Time (h)
a–g
Values with different superscripts within columns are significantly
Figure 1 Water content as a function of adsorption time for wheat different (P < 0.001).
starch/whey-protein isolate films (A: 100% wheat starch; B: 75%
wheat starch + 25% whey protein; C: 50% wheat starch + 50% whey
protein; D: 25% wheat starch + 75% whey protein; E: 100% whey Water vapour permeability
protein). Experimental points and fitted exponential equation (lines).
The results of water vapour permeability of pure
wheat starch, pure whey protein and composite films
are presented in Table 4. Obtained values depend on
Table 3 Exponential equation parameters fitted water vapour
adsorption kinetics by of wheat starch/whey-protein isolate films (A:
relative humidity (RH). For films which were stored at
100% wheat starch; B: 75% wheat starch + 25% whey protein; C: 0–30% values are the lowest, for 30–75% values are
50% wheat starch + 50% whey protein; D: 25% wheat starch + higher, and the highest are for the ones stored at 30–
75% whey protein; E: 100% whey protein; R2 – determination coeffi- 100% (RH) which was also presented in literature
cient, MRE – mean relative error) (Olivas & Barbarosa-Canovas, 2008). One can also
notice that when humidity decreases, water vapour
Equation parameters permeability is lower. Starch films at relative humidity
Sample a b c R2 MRE (%) gradient (RHG) 0–30% have the lowest values. On the
other hand, regardless of RH, values of WVP are
A 0.259 1.007 0.182 0.993 6.863 always of the same dependency. When the protein con-
B 0.270 0.994 0.178 0.990 5.743 tent increases, values of WVP rise too. For pure starch
C 0.296 0.998 0.144 0.993 6.088 films, values of WVP are at the lowest level. Increasing
D 0.291 0.996 0.169 0.992 5.593
the addition of protein isolate causes growth of values.
E 0.324 0.997 0.174 0.991 3.578
Jimenez et al. (2012) prepared films made of pure
starch, pure hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC)
and with their combinations with ratios of 3:1, 1:1 and
which were derived from the fit, are presented in 1:3. They reported that addition of HPMC to starch
Table 3. The coefficients of determination are found to causes an increase of values of WVP. Values of pure
be very high in all cases (R2 > 0.99), and values of starch films and films with HPMC are similar but not
mean relative error (MRE) were low, in the range of the same. Values increase with higher content of poly-
3.578–6.863%. These two indicators proved a good fit saccharides, which have hydrophilic character. Starch
to the experimental data. The highest sorption rate (c – films have the lowest value of the swelling index. Val-
parameter of eqn 2) was obtained for pure wheat ues increase when the content of protein isolate rises.
starch films. The chosen equation was also used to It means that more protein isolate causes higher levels
describe the shape of water vapour sorption kinetics of hydrophilicity. That is why adding protein isolate
of soy protein/oxidised starch and soy protein/maltod- results in an increase of WVP values. Values of water
extrin composite films (Galus et al., 2012a), pectin vapour permeability (WVP) also depend on relative
films (Galus et al., 2012b) and also for food products, humidity. The lowest value is for samples with the
that is,. freeze-dried strawberries (Ciuszy nska & lowest moisture content.
Lenart, 2010) or food powders (Kowalska et al.,
2006). Based on the obtained results, the water vapour
Mechanical properties
adsorption rate was the highest at the beginning of
the process, when the initial water content in analysed Table 5 shows values of mechanical properties: tensile
films was low. strength and elongation.

International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2014 © 2014 Institute of Food Science and Technology
 Wheat starch/whey protein composite films E. Basiak et al. 7

Table 5 Tensile strength and elongation at break of composite edi- protein films plasticised with glycerol (tensile strength
ble films based o wheat starch/whey-protein isolate; (A: 100% wheat ~6.3 MPa). In all formulations, starch significantly
starch; B: 75% wheat starch + 25% whey protein; C: 50% wheat reduced the TS. Cao et al. (2007) also reported that
starch + 50% whey protein; D: 25% wheat starch + 75% whey pro-
the tensile strength of soy protein and fish gelatin com-
tein; E: 100% whey protein)
posite films increased when the content of gelatin was
Film Tensile strength (MPa) Elongation at break (%) higher. Dong et al. (2007) made composite films of
alginate and gelatin. The authors reported that TS
A 2.29  0.33a
10.22  0.81a increased when protein content increased. Also, Cham-
B 3.90  0.56b 16.17  1.11a bi & Grosso (2006) found a dependence between two
C 4.67  0.19b 76.26  8.92b
film components. The higher the gelatin content, the
D 5.10  0.89b 51.35  4.83c
E 8.90  1.01c 13.12  1.42a
higher was TS. The value of TS increased when the
amount of protein increased in mixed films.
a–c
Values with different superscripts within columns are significantly
different (P < 0.001).
Microstructure
The structure of the film depends on chemical interac-
Tensile strength values range from 2.29 (pure starch tions of film hydrocolloids and on the drying method
films 100S-0WP) to 8.90 MPa (pure protein isolate of film-forming solutions. Micrographs provide infor-
films 0S-100WP). Values for starch-protein isolate mation about how the film’s components are located
samples are between the lowest and the highest results. and how they are arranged in a film matrix (Fabra
The lowest value was for pure starch films. When et al., 2009).
more protein isolate was added, values were higher. Photographs taken with scanning electron micros-
More protein isolate caused a higher value of tensile copy (SEM) give a better insight into the homogeneity
strength. The elongation at break values for pure and the films’ microscopic structure. In Fig. 2a–j,
starch films, 75% starch and 25% protein isolate films scanning electron micrographs are presented (Fig. 2a,
and pure protein isolate films varied from 10.22 to c,e,g,i – surface and Fig. 2b,d,f,h,j – cross-section).
16.17%, whereas the values for films of starch and Starch samples (pure starch films 100S-0WP) are
protein isolate in a ratio of 1:1 and films of 25% dull, while those with protein isolate (pure whey-
starch and 75% protein isolate were a few times protein isolate films 0S-100WP) are shiny on the side
higher. Pure starch films are stiffer and more fragile facing the casting plate with the film but dull on its
than films with addition of protein isolate. Whey-pro- reverse side (Fig. 2a,j). Samples, which contain 75%
tein isolate films combined with wheat starch showed starch and 25% protein isolate are dull, while samples
greater flexibility than pure films. Rhim et al. (1998) in a ratio of 1:1 are slightly shiny on the facing side of
reported similar results of tensile properties for soy the plate, whereas samples 25% starch and 75%

(a) (c) (e) (g) (i)

(b) (d) (f) (h) (j)

Figure 2 Scanning electron micrographs of view (a,c,e,g,i; magnification 5009) and cross-section (b,d,f,h,j; magnification 15009) of wheat
starch/whey protein isolate films - a: 100% wheat starch; b: 75% wheat starch + 25% whey protein; c: 50% wheat starch + 50% whey protein;
d: 25% wheat starch + 75% whey protein; e: 100% whey protein.

© 2014 Institute of Food Science and Technology International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2014
8 Wheat starch/whey protein composite films E. Basiak et al.

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© 2014 Institute of Food Science and Technology International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2014