Buffering moisture variation during cherry tomatoes preservation through deep eutectic solvent films

Moisture plays an important role in fruit preservation. In this study, deep eutectic solvents (DESs) were prepared and DES-based films with the property of buffering moisture variation were fabricated (CG 10 , CG 50 ). Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) analyses and Raman spectra suggested that the water states in DESs and DES-based films transferred from a tight combination to a loose combination during the moisture sorption process. In addition, the moisture sorption capacity (M eq = 2.91) of the film suggested that CG 50 possessed water storage capacity and a high effective diffusion coefficient (0.01 mm 2 d −1 ) ensured the easy passing of water molecules through the DES-based films. Furthermore, the fruit preservation experiment using cherry tomatoes as a representative showed that DES-based films as a “buffer pool” not only could inhibit spoilage but also maintain the stable packaging RH, indicating the potential of DES-based films in moisture regulation.