Diffusional behaviour of essential oil components in active packaging polypropylene films by Multiple Head-Space-Solid Phase Microextraction-Gas Chromatography (MHS-SPME-GC-MS)

Essential oils (EOs) are promising substances to be incorporated in food packaging materials as antioxidant and/or antimicrobial agents in active packaging systems. Once incorporated into the materials, their constituent compounds diffuse through the material. However, there is little information about the diffusion behaviour of EOs in plastics, and this is one of the major drawbacks in the design of active packaging relying on EOs as active agents. This study presents a new method for studying the diffusion of basil, citronella, oregano and rosemary EOs into plastic films. Diffusion assays of EOs from a coated polypropylene (PP) film into a stack of virgin PP films were conducted by the Moisan method using up to 10 layers of PP. Direct quantification of diffused analytes from the plastic sheets was performed by multiple headspace solid phase microextraction–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The fitting of experimental data for the main EO components with a Fickian model gave diffusion and partition (between active and virgin PP) coefficients, which are discussed under the light of some intrinsic factors contributing to the diffusion process. The results demonstrate the dependence of diffusion and partition coefficients on the initial concentration of EO components in the coated films, on their molecular weight and on their polarity. In particular, for similar molecular weight and initial concentration, a higher polarity is responsible for a faster diffusion, whereas lower polarity determines the retention of the EO component in the coating layer.