Advances and Trends in Edible Films and Coatings

Dear Colleagues,

The development of edible films and coatings from animals, vegetables and microbial sources is a fascinating and continually growing area; these materials are increasingly being integrated into food products and medicines, often enhancing antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, in addition to being fully biodegradable materials. Thus, they are a healthy alternative with less waste. The scientific community is increasingly discovering raw materials, processes and products that help preserve fruits, vegetables and flowers, contributing to adding value and reducing losses of horticultural products. Specifically, understanding the properties of edible films and coatings, their interaction with living surfaces (fruits, vegetables and flowers), the manufacturing process, operational costs, and their application and drying on living surfaces are the major bottlenecks for the development of this technology.

This Special Issue is dedicated to fundamental and applied research on bioactive surfaces and biointerfacial phenomena with special relevance to the areas of biomaterials, biotechnology, food and agriculture. It will serve as a forum for scientific articles on the following areas:

1. Recent discoveries in multifunctional edible coatings and films and surface interaction phenomena;
2. New methods of preparation, characterization and optimization of the protective properties of coatings and films;
3. The use of nanotechnology and biotechnology to optimize edible films and coatings;
4. Methods of application and drying of edible films and coatings;
5. New studies on structural, physicochemical, antioxidant and antimicrobial characterization of edible films and coatings;
6. Non-destructive methods for evaluating edible films and coatings;
7. Investigation of degradation and biodegradation mechanisms in different biomes.

All manuscripts to be considered for publication in this Special Issue will undergo a rigorous peer review process, and decisions will be based on the recommendations of independent reviewers. Submitted manuscripts must not have been previously published, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings articles).

Dr. Adriano do Nascimento Simões
Dr. Andréa Monteiro Santana Silva Brito
Dr. Glória Maria Vinhas
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• antimicrobial and antioxidant coating
• edible nanocoating
• bioactive films
• biopolymeric films
• biodegradable materials
• application and drying of edible coating