Enhancing Botrytis cinerea resistance in strawberry preservation with non-contact functionalized chitosan-Cinnamaldehyde composite films

Current escalating food safety concerns from packaging-food surface interactions pose a significant hurdle in developing novel preservation materials. In this study, differing from conventional contact-based antibacterial films, we employed a Schiff base reaction to anchor the volatile antimicrobial agent cinnamaldehyde (CIN) onto functionalized N-succinyl chitosan (NSC), resulting in a non-contact CIN-NSC antimicrobial preservation film. At room temperature, the film shows sustained CIN release, peaking at 144 h. Targeting the sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51) of Botrytis cinerea (B. cinerea), CIN significantly inhibits spore germination and mycelial growth (EC₅₀ values of 137.12 μg/mL and 77.23 μg/mL, respectively) without direct contact. In application, CIN-NSC films maintain strawberry quality for over a week through non-contact mechanisms, ensuring safety. These findings highlight the potential of CIN-NSC packaging films as effective antimicrobial materials for improving food preservation standards.