{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T16:27:16Z","timestamp":1790612836425,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,10]],"date-time":"2026-08-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786320000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In this study, quaternary ammonium salts (QAS) with different alkyl chain lengths (C12 and C18) were incorporated into starch\/poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) matrices with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) to prepare blown films. The film with the combination of QAS and EDTA (D18D12E) achieved antibacterial rates of \u226599% against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, while maintaining cytocompatibility with HepG2 cells (viability \u2265 70%) and preliminary tobacco-growth compatibility. Compared with the control, the D18D12E film showed lower tensile strength (7.60 MPa) and higher oxygen (22.42 \u00d7 10\u221213 cm3\u00b7cm\u00b7cm\u22122\u00b7s\u22121\u00b7Pa\u22121) and carbon dioxide permeability coefficients (22.10 \u00d7 10\u221213 cm3\u00b7cm\u00b7cm\u22122\u00b7s\u22121\u00b7Pa\u22121). Its elongation at break (805.80%) and water vapor permeability (4.03 \u00d7 10\u221211 g\u00b7m\u00b7m\u22122\u00b7s\u22121\u00b7Pa\u22121) remained statistically comparable to those of the control. Furthermore, the D18D12E films delayed the visible deterioration of Chinese steamed bread and strawberries during 4 and 8 days of storage, respectively. These findings show that EDTA-assisted reduction in QAS loading can maintain antibacterial activity, but the associated mechanical and gas-barrier trade-offs require further formulation optimization.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods15162797","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,10]],"date-time":"2026-08-10T15:10:24Z","timestamp":1786374624000},"page":"2797","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Starch\/Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) Blown Films Containing Quaternary Ammonium Salts and Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid for Food Preservation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Shan","family":"Gao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Food Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai\u2019an 271018, China"},{"name":"Engineering and Technology Center for Grain Processing in Shandong Province, Tai\u2019an 271018, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qiantong","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Food Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai\u2019an 271018, China"},{"name":"National R&D Center for Beef Processing Technology, Tai\u2019an 271018, China"},{"name":"International Joint Research Lab (China and Greece) of Digital Transformation as an Enabler for Food Safety and Sustainability, Tai\u2019an 271018, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuchen","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shandong Medicine Technician College, Tai\u2019an 271000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuanzhe","family":"Hou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Food Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai\u2019an 271018, China"},{"name":"Engineering and Technology Center for Grain Processing in Shandong Province, Tai\u2019an 271018, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Junjie","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Food Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai\u2019an 271018, China"},{"name":"Engineering and Technology Center for Grain Processing in Shandong Province, Tai\u2019an 271018, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuntong","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Food Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai\u2019an 271018, China"},{"name":"Engineering and Technology Center for Grain Processing in Shandong Province, Tai\u2019an 271018, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8946-413X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hanxue","family":"Hou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Food Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai\u2019an 271018, China"},{"name":"Engineering and Technology Center for Grain Processing in Shandong Province, Tai\u2019an 271018, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"150094","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodchem.2026.150094","article-title":"A review of antimicrobial biodegradable food packaging: Design strategies, applications, and challenges","volume":"522","author":"Gao","year":"2026","journal-title":"Food Chem."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"119285","DOI":"10.1016\/j.indcrop.2024.119285","article-title":"An intensive exploration of plasticization, tensile, flexural and ecotoxicity of styrene-grafted thermoplastic starch (TPS) composite material","volume":"220","author":"Fang","year":"2024","journal-title":"Ind. 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