Interfacial soft-hard locking of Pickering emulsions in marine biomass for enhancing fruit and vegetable preservation

ChNC-PGA complexes created Pickering emulsions with soft-hard interfacial locking. • ChNC:PGA ratio governed wettability, charge behaviour, and eugenol retention. • Emulsion interfaces determined dispersion and compatibility within the DC film matrix. • Optimized films balanced mechanical strength, oxygen barrier, and sustained bioactivity. • Active marine biomass-based matrices effectively preserved broccoli and strawberries during storage. Stable incorporation of hydrophobic bioactives into marine biomass-based matrices remains a major challenge for functional food preservation. Here, we report a novel strategy based on the proposed soft-hard interfacial organisation of Pickering emulsions, stabilised by chitin nanocrystals (ChNCs) and propylene glycol alginate (PGA), to construct a structurally stable active matrix for enhancing fruit and vegetable shelf life. The ratio of ChNC to PGA modulated interfacial properties including droplet size, wettability, surface charge, and bioactive retention, which in turn determined emulsion dispersion and compatibility within the matrix. The optimized system (15 wt% stable emulsion) exhibited high tensile strength, moderate elasticity, low oxygen permeability, and controlled swelling. Notably, after 7 d of storage, it retained >96% contact phase inhibition against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus , while effectively preserving broccoli and strawberries. This study suggests that the proposed ChNC-PGA interfacial organisation may provide a feasible route to engineer improved bio-based matrices for food preservation, providing a rational strategy for sustainable and functional food protection.