Pullulan packaging materials

Pullulan films are used for coating or packaging material of dried foods, including nuts, noodles, confectioneries, vegetables, and meats [258]. Pullulan derivatives are promising as nontoxic conjugates for vaccines [259, 260]. 

Polymers with hydrolysable linkages in the backbone are very useful in a range of degradable materials. For disposable table-wares as cups or expendable packages many of them are still too expensive and do not exhibit the desirable combination of mechanical and chemical properties. Well-known synthetic hydrolysable polymers are polyesters [1], polycarbonates [2], polyanhydrides [2], polyamides [2] and poly(amino acids) [2]. Hydrolysable biopolymers may be cheaper than synthetically produced polymers (e.g. aliphatic polyesters such as polylactides) and many scientists today are looking for new possibilities using such traditional natural polymers as polysaccharides, proteins and lipids. Special interest is focused on poly(P-hydroxybutyrate) and its copolymers [3,4] (see Chapters 9 and 10). Well-known natural products such as Pullulan (a bacterial polysaccharide produced by Aerobasidium pullulans), cellulose acetate and starch, as well as synthetic polyvinyl alcohol are important degradable materials. 

For coating materials or packaging films, several potysaccharide-based biopolymers have been used, including starch, pullulan, and chitosan. Starch is used as a filler to increase the degradation of synthetic polymer films. The LDPE blends mixed with 10% corn under the conventional techniques were used in the manufacturing of the grocery bags. (Shinde et al., 1992). 

---