Carbon dots: A sustainable packaging approach

The assurance of the security and safety of food is one of the primary obstacles affecting the

world's community. Every country allocates a significant proportion of its resources to feed

its own population. Nevertheless, an enormous quantity of food is wasted due to

disintegrating before it's delivered to customers, yielding substantial financial damages

(Prusky, 2011). The growth of microorganisms or biochemical mechanisms such as food

component oxidation is the primary driver of food deterioration during storage and

distribution. In an effort to safeguard food against spoilage as well as minimise after-

processing wastage of food, active packaging, a form of food packaging technology, has

witnessed substantial growth in recent years (Rahman, 2020). Its primary objectives are to

ensure food safety and lengthen shelf life. For enhancing the functionality of packaging

materials, active packaging entails adding active substances like antioxidants and

antibacterial substances. In addition, for the development of active packaging to be

successful, safe as well as efficient active functional components are essential.

Quantum dots, widely referred to as QDs, represent a newly developed class of

functional material. Smaller than 10 nm CD nanoparticles are usually made up of nitrogen,

carbon, oxygen, as well as hydrogen. Their controlled luminescence across the spectrum of

visible light is crucial to the quality of CDs. Moreover, they offer various benefits such as

affordability, high solubility in water, biocompatibility, non-toxicity, simplicity of synthesis,

sensitivity to the surrounding environment, and notable electron-accepting and donating

abilities. For an array of biomedical applications, researchers have been investigating the

photoluminescent characteristics of non-metallic quantum dots for the past ten years. These

environmentally safe and low-toxic quantum dots have opened up novel opportunities for

countless biological and other utilizations. Quantum dot technology has also been the subject

of substantial studies in the domain of food packaging.

 With desirable features like antibacterial, anti-ultraviolet, biocompatibility, and anti-

oxidation, carbon dots have the potential to play a role in the fabrication of unique

biodegradable films for food packaging. These carbon dots can successfully maintain the

freshness and quality of food, prolonging its shelf life. There is a need for carbon dots that

can match the industry's high criteria for expanding the storage life and ensuring the safety of

packed items given the strict requirements of the food packaging sector. Due to its simplistic

as well as environmentally beneficial manufacturing procedure, which uses a wide range of

renewable sources, for example, leftover food, waste from agriculture, microbes,

polysaccharides, and innocuous carbon-based substances, CQD has emerged as an attractive

option. The active additives employed for the development of nanocomposite films

frequently originate via chemical procedures, which can be pricey as well as present potential

hazards for applications involving either indirect or immediate human contact. The key

benefit of CQD, however, lies in the fact it is capable of being easily produced from a range

of biomass and waste products, which aligns with the current trend of inexpensive, green,

environmentally-safe, sustainable, secure, and efficient additives.

Glucose, potato peel, banana paste, turmeric, used acorn cups, kelp, soy protein

isolate, lactose as well as cow milk are a couple of natural components utilised in the

fabrication of carbon dots and comes from renewable resources. This reduces reliance on

limited resources because their output may be replenished or regenerated. A lot of the carbon

dot sources, such as potato peel, discarded acorn cups, and leftover tea residue, are dependent

on remnants or waste products from other operations. It supports the circular economy's

precepts and assists in minimising waste by turning these materials of waste into valuable

carbon dots. Compared to conventional packaging synthesis techniques, the production of

carbon dots from substances that are naturally occurring might require less energy. Natural

resources tend to come with inherent characteristics that make the production of CDs easier
and more environmentally benign. Further, natural components used to make carbon dots

may reduce their environmental impact over the period of their existence.