Research is being conducted in an attempt to produce biodegradable packaging to replace plastic products, thereby reducing solid waste disposal. In this work, zein films were produced from vegetable oils (macadamia, olive and buriti) and from pure oleic acid. The surface of zein-based films made using oleic acid has a good lipid distribution. The high content of oleic acid produced a film with the greatest elongation at break (8.08 ± 2.71%) due to the greater homogeneity of the protein matrix. The different oils did not affect the glass transition temperature (Tg). Tg curves of films with fatty acids showed a reduction in mass at between 50 and 120 °C due to water evaporation. At 120 °C the weight loss was 3-5% and above this temperature further weight loss was observed with the highest loss being seen in the film made using pure oleic acid. In conclusion, although biodegradable films were produced using the four different oils, the film made from pure oleic acid has the best characteristics.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate changes in the structure and some functional properties of biofilms added with modified clays (Cloisite® 15A and Cloisite® 30B) prepared by the casting method. The analysis of the microstructure of the films, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Optical microscopy (MO), and Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) indicated that the addition of clay in the films resulted in the formation of a heterogeneous microstructure, microcomposite or tactoid. Due to the formation of a microcomposite structure, functional properties of the films added with both clays such as opacity, solubility, and permeability to water vapor (PVA), were not better than those of the control film. Thus, it was concluded that although it is possible to produce a film added with modified clays using the casting method, it was not possible to obtain intercalation or exfoliation in a nanocomposite, which would result in improved functional properties.

Structural and optical characteristics of zein‐based films produced with different xanthan gum concentrations have been studied in this work. Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy (OM) were performed to identify if the incorporation of the material into the matrix film, formed a homogeneous structure, as well as to characterize its constituents as the colour and shape. SEM showed a homogeneous matrix for the control (0% xanthan) with good lipid distribution. However, when the samples were investigated by OM, lipids globules in the control biofilm appeared larger and more dispersed in the matrix than the others samples. Transparency/opacity test measurements by UV‐VIS analysis indicated that the addition of xanthan to the film matrix lowered significantly its transparency properties Overall, the addition of xanthan gum favoured lipid dispersion in the matrix, making biomaterials more homogeneous, although with less transparency.