Biodegradable Hydrogel Film for Food Packaging NILADRI ROY 1 , NABANITA SAHA 2* , PETR SAHA 2 1 Centre of Polymer Systems Tomas Bata University in Zlin Nam T.G. Masaryka 5555, 76001 Zlin CZECH REPUBLIC 2 Centre of Polymer Systems Polymer Centre Tomas Bata University in Zlin Nam T.G. Masaryka 5555, 76001 Zlin CZECH REPUBLIC nabanita@ft.utb.cz , http://www.ft.utb.cz Abstract: - Disposal of waste plastic packaging materials has raised a serious problem worldwide leading to environmental pollution due to the fact that most of the plastic packaging materials are generally non- biodegradable. In this article we have reported about a novel synthetic and biopolymer based biodegradable hydrogel film as a food packaging material. The water vapour transmission (WVT) test proves that oxygen can pass through the hydrogel film, i.e. the film is breathable. Biodegradability study of the hydrogel film was carried out by soil burial-test in a composting environment up to 5 weeks. SEM analysis shows structural deformation of the hydrogel film with time. The hydrogel film shows sharp weight loss until 4 weeks, and after that no significant residues of the hydrogel films were found in the compost bed. Key-Words: - Breathable, biodegradable, biopolymer, compost, hydrogel, packaging. 1 Introduction Hydrogels are extremely hydrated polymer gels with macromolecular three dimensional networks that swells but do not dissolve in water [1]. They have wide range of applications: in agriculture [2], bio and chemical sensors [3-4], water purification and removal of metal ions [5-6], oil spill removal [7], DNA separation [8], largely in the biomedical field (contact lens, wound dressing, tissue engineering, drug delivery, etc.) [9-12], and for food packaging as well [13]. There are different materials available for packaging. Papers and clothes are flexible and light weight and recyclable. Glass and metals are also widely used for packaging as they are corrosion resistant and stronger, respectively. However, among the packaging materials, polymers, specifically plastics are most demanding. They exhibit many worthwhile characteristics, such as: transparency, softness, heat seal ability, and good strength to weight ratio. In addition, they are generally low cost materials, show efficient mechanical properties such as tear and tensile strength, and they are good barrier to oxygen and heat [13, 14]. But, most of the plastic food packaging materials are practically non-degradable, and the waste packaging materials have raised a serious global environmental problem. The use of biodegradable polymer has been limited because they show some problems in their performance and processing, such as brittleness and heat distortion temperature, respectively [15, 16]. Initially, using of starch as a biodegradable thermoplastic material grabbed the attention of the researchers. However this concept did not turn out into a very fruitful one because of the poor performance of starch regarding water sensitivity, limited mechanical properties with high brittleness [15]. To face this challenge, many researchers as well as companies worldwide are now emphasizing on the development of eco- friendly packaging solutions by using the ecological advantages of biopolymers in food packaging applications [13]. Even though researchers have focused on applying these techniques to the food industry, there seems to be a gap between research and its implementation in the industry [14]. To overcome this problem up to a greater extent, as an Recent Researches in Geography, Geology, Energy, Environment and Biomedicine ISBN: 978-1-61804-022-0 329