This study successfully developed edible films with excellent mechanical strength and notable water resistance, utilizing curdlan (CL) as the primary matrix and incorporating various plasticizers, including glycerol (GLY), ethylene glycol (EG), propylene glycol (PRO), xylitol (XY), sorbitol (SOR), and polyethylene glycol (PEG). A comprehensive suite of analytical techniques, including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), wide-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and tensile testing, were employed to evaluate the films’ structural and mechanical properties. After incorporating PEG, the water sensitivity increased slightly, with a contact angle (CA) of 97.6°, and a water solubility (WS) of 18.75%. The inclusion of plasticizers altered the crystalline structure of the CL matrix, smoothing and flattening the film surface while reducing hydrogen-bonding interactions. These structural changes led to a more uniform distribution of amorphous chain segments and a decrease in glass transition temperatures. Among the tested plasticizers, GLY exhibited the highest compatibility with CL, resulting in the smoothest surface morphology and delivering the most effective plasticizing effect. The CL-GLY film showed a dramatic improvement in flexibility, with an elongation at break that was 5.2 times higher than that of the unplasticized film (increasing from 5.39% to 33.14%), indicating significant enhancement in extensibility. Overall, these findings highlight the potential of CL-GLY films as sustainable and effective materials for food packaging applications.

This work focuses on the effect of curdlan (CL) on dynamic viscoelastic property, thermal reversible property, viscosity, and the fluid types of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) at different temperatures. Compared to the blends at 25 °C, the blends had a smaller linear viscoelastic region (LVR), a higher gel strength, and larger storage modulus (G’) and loss modulus (G”) values at 82 °C. G’, G”, gel strength, and viscosity increased with the increase of CL. Repeated temperature sweep led to increased G’ and G” of HPMC/CL blends. For HC6 and HC8, the gel formation temperature of the repeated temperature sweep was significantly lower than that of the first sweep. The samples at 82 °C, except for the sample with 8% CL, were all yield-shear thinning fluids, and the samples at 40 °C were shear thinning fluids. The creation of HPMC/CL and its rheological research might provide some methodological references for the study of other thermal–thermal gel blends.

The good oxygen barrier and hydrophobic properties of curdlan (CL) film might be suitable complements for MC film, and its similar glucose unit and thermal-gel character might endow the methyl cellulose (MC)/CL blended system with compatibility and good comprehensive properties. Thus, MC/CL blended films were developed. The effects of MC/CL blend ratios on the microstructures and physical properties of the blends were characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), oxygen and water vapor permeability testing, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), light transmittance testing, tensile testing, hydrophilic property testing, and water solubility testing. The introduction of CL affected the molecular aggregation and crystallization of the MC molecules, suggesting MC–CL molecular interactions. The cross-sectional roughness of the MC/CL film increased with an increase in CL content, while the surface of the MC/CL 5:5 film was smoother than those of the MC/CL 7:3 and 3:7 films. Only one glass transition temperature, which was between that of the MC and CL films, was observed for the MC/CL 7:3 and MC/CL 5:5 films, indicating the good compatibility of the MC and CL molecules at these two blend ratios. The hydrophobicity and water insolubility increased with the CL content, which was due to the combined effects of more hydrophobic cavities in the CL triple-helix and increased surface roughness. Increased oxygen barrier properties with increasing CL content might be a combined effect of the increased hydrogen bonds and hydrophilic ektexines of the CL triple-helix. The elongations of the blended films were higher than those of the MC film, which might be related to its increased water content. The MC/CL 7:3 and MC/CL 5:5 films retained the good light transmittance and tensile strength of the MC film, which corresponded well to their good compatibility and might be due to the effects of the MC–CL molecular interactions and the relative smooth morphologies. MC/CL 5:5 showed improved water vapor barrier properties, which might be due to its smooth surface morphologies. This research offers new MC based films with improved properties and good compatibility, providing great potential for use as edible coatings, capsules, and packaging materials.

This research supplied a “cleaner-production” way to produce “clean-label” quinoa starch-based Pickering emulsifier with excellent emulsifying properties. The effects of dry ball-milling time and speed on the multi-scale structures and emulsifying properties of quinoa starch were studied. With increasing ball-milling time and speed, particle size first decreased and then increased, the crystallinity, lamellar structure and short-range ordered structure gradually decreased, and contact angle gradually increased. The increased contact angle might be related to the increased oil absorption properties and the decreased water content. The emulsification properties of ball-milled quinoa starch (BMQS)-based Pickering emulsions increased with the increase in ball-milling time and speed, and the emulsions of BMQS-4 h, 6 h, 8 h, and 600 r reached the full emulsification state. After 120 days’ storage, the oil droplets of BMQS-2 h (BMQS-400 r) deformed, the oil droplets increased, and the emulsification index decreased. The emulsification index and the oil droplets of BMQS-4 h, 6 h, 8 h and 600 r-based emulsions did not show obvious changes after storage, indicating the good emulsifying stability of these BMQS-based emulsions, which might be because that the relatively larger amount of starch particles that dispersed in the voids among the oil droplets could act as stronger network skeletons for the emulsion gel. This Pickering emulsifier was easily and highly efficiently produced and low-cost, having great potential to be used in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.