{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,8]],"date-time":"2026-10-08T23:08:38Z","timestamp":1791500918304,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,25]],"date-time":"2026-03-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774396800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["82503795"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["82503795"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["82503795"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["82503795"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Regional Joint Project of Hunan Province","award":["2025JJ70280"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025JJ70280"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002858","name":"China Postdoctoral Science Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["BX20240082"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BX20240082"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002858","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["BX20240082"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BX20240082"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/0426zh255","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Shanghai Rising Star Program Sailing Project","award":["24YF2705600"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["24YF2705600"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study developed an active packaging material by incorporating tea tree oil (TTO)-loaded lotus stalk biochar (BC@TTO) into a chitosan (CS) matrix. Biochar was prepared from lotus stalks via pyrolysis at 600 \u00b0C and characterized, revealing a mesoporous structure with a specific surface area of 35.9 m2\/g. Adsorption studies demonstrated that BC exhibited high affinity for TTO, following pseudo-first-order kinetics and the Langmuir isotherm model, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 295.6 mg\/g. Chitosan-based composite membranes with varying BC@TTO contents (1\u20137 wt%) were fabricated by solution casting. The incorporation of BC@TTO significantly enhanced the tensile strength, elongation at break, barrier properties (water vapor and oxygen), and antioxidant\/antibacterial activities of the membranes, with optimal performance observed at 3 wt% loading. However, higher loadings led to filler aggregation, reduced transparency, and compromised mechanical properties. In vitro release studies indicated that TTO release followed the Avrami model, suggesting a diffusion-controlled mechanism. Preservation tests on blueberries showed that the CS-3BC@TTO membrane effectively reduced weight loss and maintained fruit quality during storage. This work presents a promising strategy for designing bioactive packaging materials with sustained release functionality for food preservation applications.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules31071079","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,25]],"date-time":"2026-03-25T15:34:27Z","timestamp":1774452867000},"page":"1079","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Biochar-Stabilized Tea Tree Oil in Chitosan Membranes for Sustainable Antimicrobial Packaging"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"31","author":[{"given":"Kang","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan Institute of Science and Technology, Yueyang 414006, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jing","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan Institute of Science and Technology, Yueyang 414006, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peiqin","family":"Cao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan Institute of Science and Technology, Yueyang 414006, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yixuan","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan Institute of Science and Technology, Yueyang 414006, China"},{"name":"Qingyun Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd., Yueyang 414006, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yixiu","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Hepatic Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai 200032, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hongxu","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Hepatic Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai 200032, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"133242","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijbiomac.2024.133242","article-title":"A Review of Advancements in Chitosan-Essential Oil Composite Films: Better and Sustainable Food Preservation with Biodegradable Packaging","volume":"274","author":"Liu","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int. 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