Biophysical transport control in smart nanocomposite packaging under non-thermal food preservation technologies

1 Introduction

Transport phenomena play a central role in food deterioration and preservation, governing oxygen ingress, moisture migration, volatile exchange, heat dissipation, and the movement of reactive species at the food–package interface (Jyoti et al., 2025). Conventional food packaging materials have historically been designed to provide static barrier protection against these transport processes, thereby slowing quality loss and extending shelf life (Kader et al., 1989). However, increasing demands arising from globalized supply chains, climate variability, sustainability pressures, and heightened expectations for food safety and transparency have exposed the limitations of passive packaging systems (Jyoti et al., 2025; Kader et al., 1989). These limitations are particularly evident under dynamic storage and processing conditions, where transport rates vary spatially and temporally and can no longer be effectively managed by fixed material properties alone.

In parallel, non-thermal food preservation technologies such as cold plasma, pulsed electric fields, and high-pressure processing have emerged as effective alternatives to conventional thermal treatments (Yang et al., 2024). These technologies achieve microbial inactivation while preserving nutritional and sensory quality, largely by manipulating electrical, mechanical, or chemical energy pathways rather than bulk temperature (Yang et al., 2024; Soundara and Wani, 2025). Their effectiveness, however, depends critically on how mass, heat, and energy are transported through both the food matrix and the surrounding packaging (Soundara and Wani, 2025). Exposure to strong electric fields, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, pressure cycling, or irradiation can alter polymer structure, accelerate diffusion, and induce new transport pathways within packaging materials. As a result, packaging must not only survive these conditions but also regulate transport processes in a predictable and safe manner. Nanocomposite packaging materials have emerged as a promising response to these challenges (Motedayen et al., 2019). By embedding nanoscale fillers within polymer matrices, nanocomposites modify transport behaviour through changes in tortuosity, interfacial interactions, and network formation. These structural features reduce gas and moisture permeability, enhance mechanical stability, and enable active functions such as antimicrobial and antioxidant activity (Motedayen et al., 2019; Siciliano et al., 2025). From a food biophysics perspective, such improvements arise from nanoscale control of diffusion, permeability, and energy dissipation mechanisms that directly influence spoilage kinetics. Under non-thermal treatments, nanocomposite packaging therefore functions as a dynamic biophysical interface that mediates coupled mass, heat, and energy transfer rather than serving solely as a passive barrier (Yang M. et al., 2025; Kumari and Gaikwad, 2025). Recent integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies has further expanded the role of packaging in managing transport-driven deterioration (Shao et al., 2026a). Smart nanocomposite films embedded with optical, gas, or electrochemical nano-sensors can generate real-time data related to oxygen availability, moisture gradients, volatile organic compound release, or early microbial activity (Gholizadeh et al., 2007). When interpreted using AI-based analytical models and transmitted through IoT-enabled architectures, these signals provide insight into evolving transport conditions and associated quality changes within packaged foods (Shao et al., 2026a; Gholizadeh et al., 2007). This digital–material convergence links measurable biophysical transport processes with predictive modelling and decision support, allowing packaging systems to respond adaptively rather than merely recording static barrier performance (Pham et al., 2025).

Smart nanocomposite coating systems and non-thermal preservation technologies are increasingly recognized as complementary components of an integrated food-preservation strategy, in which material formulation, processing, and food application work synergistically to improve quality, safety, and shelf life (Tavassoli et al., 2025; Cazón et al., 2025). As illustrated in Figure 1, the process begins with the formulation of a multifunctional coating comprising biopolymers, nanofillers, and bioactive agents, followed by application to diverse food matrices, including fruits, vegetables, and meat products. Nanofillers such as clay, carbon-based materials, and metal oxides reinforce the polymer matrix and enhance barrier and mechanical performance, while antimicrobial and antioxidant agents provide additional protection against microbial growth and oxidative deterioration (Adak et al., 2025; Wu et al., 2023). Subsequent application of non-thermal technologies, including high hydrostatic pressure (HHP), ultrasound, and irradiation, can further modify coating structure, improve component dispersion and interfacial interactions, and enhance the preservation activity of the coating without imposing severe thermal damage on food (Cazón et al., 2025). The resulting synergistic effects include improved barrier protection, mechanical stability, microbial control, reduced oxidation, and prolonged shelf life. Therefore, the integrated framework presented in Figure 1 demonstrates how smart nanocomposite coatings can function as multifunctional protective interfaces and, when coupled with non-thermal processing, provide a sustainable and technologically advanced approach for maintaining food quality and safety during storage.

Sustainability considerations further underscore the importance of transport control in packaging design (Kader et al., 1989). Bio-based polymers derived from polysaccharides and plant proteins are increasingly proposed as alternatives to petroleum-based plastics; however, current literature provides limited mechanistic insight into how their structurally heterogeneous matrices govern coupled mass, heat, and energy transport, particularly under non-thermal processing conditions that induce dynamic and often transient interfacial changes (Kader et al., 1989; Li et al., 2025a). Moreover, most existing studies examine barrier properties, antimicrobial activity, and sensing functions in a fragmented manner, with little integration of how functionalization using natural pigments, probiotics, and nanofillers simultaneously alters transport pathways and active preservation mechanisms at multiple scales (Shao et al., 2026a; Fadeyibi et al., 2025a; Zafar et al., 2025). In addition, there is still no unified transport-oriented framework linking nanoscale material design, interfacial phenomena, and system-level performance in smart packaging systems, especially when combined with IoT-enabled sensing and AI-driven analytics for real-time decision support (Golshany et al., 2025; Al-Thani et al., 2025). From an industrial perspective, this lack of integration limits the translation of laboratory-scale innovations into scalable packaging solutions, as manufacturers require predictive understanding of transport behaviour to optimize film formulation, processing conditions, and shelf-life performance under real supply-chain stresses. Against this background, this review systematically examines the transport mechanisms governing smart nanocomposite packaging under non-thermal food preservation treatments. It focuses on coupled mass, heat, and energy transfer processes and their modulation through advanced interfacial functionalization, and intelligent sensing integration. By consolidating fragmented advances across nanocomposite design, non-thermal processing, and digital monitoring systems, this review fills the critical gap in transport-integrated understanding of multifunctional packaging systems. It further establishes how biophysical transport principles can be leveraged to bridge material design with functional preservation performance, thereby enabling more predictable scale-up, improved process control, and enhanced industrial deployment for safer, longer-lasting, and more sustainable food systems.

2 Transition from conventional polymers to nanocomposites

The ongoing shift from conventional polymers such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) toward nanocomposite-based food packaging is reshaping how packaging systems are engineered for shelf-life control. Traditional plastics provide effective containment, mechanical strength, and cost efficiency, yet they increasingly struggle to meet contemporary requirements for enhanced barrier performance, adaptability to non-thermal processing, recyclability, and environmental compatibility (Adak et al., 2025; Chandra et al., 2025). From a food engineering perspective, these limitations are critical because many postharvest deterioration pathways are fundamentally transport driven. Oxygen ingress accelerates oxidative reactions, while water vapor transfer governs dehydration, condensation, and texture loss. These processes can be expressed through permeability and flux relationships in Equation 1.where J is mass flux, D is the diffusion coefficient, S is solubility, P is permeability, L is film thickness, and Δ p is the partial-pressure driving force.

J = − D ∂ C ∂ x , P = D S , J = P L Δ p , (1)

The magnitude of D and P is strongly dependent on polymer structure, crystallinity, film thickness, temperature, humidity, and plasticization; therefore, these parameters should be interpreted as material- and condition-specific rather than as universal ranges. For example, experimental measurements of polyethylene and polypropylene films have demonstrated a clear temperature dependence of oxygen permeability, with measurements performed over approximately 8 °C–26 °C for 15-µm PE and PP films, while other studies on commercial PP packaging films have evaluated oxygen permeability over 5 °C–40 °C and reported corresponding changes in gas transmission rate, solubility, and diffusion coefficient (Kader et al., 1989; Motedayen et al., 2019). Similarly, experimental measurements of LDPE films have shown that permeability, diffusivity, and solubility increase with temperature, while variations in film thickness and polymer composition also affect the measured transport coefficients. Consequently, rather than assigning a single permeability range to conventional PE and PP, the present review emphasizes experimentally reported values under defined test conditions. For instance, an experimental study of PE films measured at 20 °C and 0% relative humidity reported an oxygen permeability of 1325.9 × 10 − 18 mol m − 1 s − 1 Pa − 1 for the uncoated PE film, illustrating the importance of specifying temperature, relative humidity, polymer grade, and film configuration when comparing permeability data (Gholizadeh et al., 2007; Siracusa et al., 2012).

Because oxygen transmission rate (OTR) and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) scale with P/L, engineering improvements in barrier properties translate directly into reduced oxidation, improved moisture stability, and more predictable quality retention during storage and distribution (Pawase et al., 2025; Xie, 2024). As illustrated in Figure 2, nanocomposites address these challenges by embedding nanoscale fillers within polymer matrices, thereby modifying mass and energy transport pathways while simultaneously improving mechanical integrity and enabling active functions such as antimicrobial and antioxidant activity, including within sustainable bio-based systems (Pawase et al., 2025; Xie, 2024). Barrier enhancement in nanocomposites is commonly interpreted through the formation of tortuous diffusion paths that reduce effective permeability, which can be approximated by Equation 2.where P _*c* is composite permeability, P _*m* is matrix permeability, and τ is the tortuosity factor.

P c ≈ P m τ , (2)

In conventional polymer films, the tortuosity factor (τ) is generally close to unity, whereas incorporation of impermeable nanofillers can increase the effective diffusion path through the polymer matrix. The magnitude of this increase is strongly dependent on filler loading, aspect ratio, orientation, intercalation/exfoliation, and dispersion quality rather than following a single universal range. Experimental studies on polymer–nanoclay systems have demonstrated that increasing nanoclay content and controlling platelet orientation can substantially reduce gas permeability, consistent with the tortuous-path mechanism (Adak et al., 2025; Chandra et al., 2025; Kausar et al., 2024). For example, experimental measurements of starch–nanoclay films under a relative-humidity gradient of 2%–75% showed reductions in effective water-diffusion coefficients from 1.70 × 10 − 12 m² s − 1 for the starch control to approximately 0.56 – 0.59 × 10 − 12 m² s − 1 for selected nanoclay formulations, demonstrating that the magnitude of transport reduction depends on nanoclay type and composite structure (Pawase et al., 2025; Xie, 2024). Similarly, experimental studies of polymer films containing oriented nanoclay have reported substantial reductions in oxygen permeability, with the measured response varying with clay volume fraction and orientation (Kausar et al., 2024). Thus, increased tortuosity provides a mechanistic explanation for reduced effective diffusivity and permeability, but the extent of reduction should be reported together with the specific polymer matrix, nanofiller loading, dispersion/orientation state, film thickness, temperature, humidity, and measurement method rather than generalized as a fixed 20%–80% range.

In parallel, nanofillers reinforce mechanical performance, supporting package durability under handling and transport loads, with mechanical response described by standard stress–strain relations in Equation 3

σ = F A , ε = Δ L L 0 , E = d σ d ε . (3)

These relationships provide a quantitative link between nanofiller selection and packaging outcomes such as reduced cracking, improved seal reliability, and sustained barrier performance under cyclic stresses (Pawase et al., 2025; Xie, 2024). In practice, diverse nanofillers have demonstrated these coupled benefits across both biodegradable and conventional platforms. For example, starch-based films incorporating laser-synthesized silver nanoparticles exhibited strong antimicrobial activity alongside improved tensile properties, achieving simultaneous structural reinforcement and microbial risk control (Ortega et al., 2025). Corn starch composites containing modified nano-silver systems similarly enhanced gas barrier capacity and film stability (Siracusa et al., 2012). Carbon-based fillers also contribute significantly to barrier-driven shelf-life extension; graphene oxide–reinforced marine biopolymer composites reduced oxygen permeability by ∼30–70%, depending on loading fraction, and improved texture retention in fresh-cut apple slices, consistent with slowed quality degradation under improved transport control (Wu et al., 2023).

Nano-clays and nanocellulose have gained increasing attention in sustainable packaging because their high aspect ratios provide effective reinforcement and barrier enhancement at relatively low filler loadings. Experimental studies indicate that starch–nano-clay composites can reduce oxygen diffusivity by approximately 30%–60% and water vapor permeability by 20%–50%, while increasing tortuosity to approximately 2–8, depending on nanoparticle dispersion and platelet alignment. These structural improvements also enhance resistance to cyclic mechanical stresses associated with vibration, stacking, and handling during transport and distribution (Frangopoulos et al., 2025). Hybrid nanocellulose–nano-clay films can further reduce oxygen and water vapor permeability by up to approximately 70% under optimized conditions, making them particularly attractive for fruits and vegetables, where moisture loss, condensation, and oxidation contribute to quality deterioration (Kausar et al., 2024). The incorporation of nanofillers therefore modifies both mass- and energy-transfer pathways within the packaging matrix by creating more tortuous diffusion routes while improving mechanical stability and functional performance (Adak et al., 2025; Wu et al., 2023). These benefits have also been extended to fibre-based and bio-based packaging, where nano-enabled coatings can improve the barrier performance of paper structures and biopolymer matrices while supporting the transition toward renewable and biodegradable materials (Pham et al., 2025; Adak et al., 2025; Singh, 2022). Antioxidant- and antimicrobial-enriched biopolymer films provide additional protection by limiting oxidative and microbial deterioration (Lacivita et al., 2023). Collectively, these developments demonstrate the transition of nanocomposite packaging from passive containment toward active and intelligent functionality through the regulation of transport, preservation, and sensing processes (Adak et al., 2025; Dharini et al., 2022; Dejene et al., 2024).

As illustrated in Figure 3, the interaction between nanocomposite packaging, non-thermal processing, and food can also be understood in terms of nanoparticle transport and migration. Nanoparticles initially dispersed or immobilized within the polymer matrix may undergo release or desorption, followed by diffusion through the polymer matrix, transport toward and across the film–food interface, and subsequent migration into the food phase (Singh, 2022). The extent of migration depends on nanoparticle characteristics, polymer free volume and crystallinity, nanoparticle–polymer interactions, temperature, contact time, and food properties such as pH, moisture, ionic strength, and lipid content. In addition, soluble nanofiller constituents or active compounds may undergo dissolution, while degradation or structural disruption of the polymer matrix can facilitate nanoparticle release and transport (Singh, 2022). Non-thermal technologies, including radiofrequency treatment, ultrasound, and non-ionizing irradiation, may modify polymer structure, nanoparticle dispersion, molecular mobility, and interfacial properties, thereby influencing these transport pathways (Singh, 2022; Fadeyibi et al., 2025b; Fadeyibi et al., 2017; Subramaniam et al., 2024). Under real food storage conditions, cassava starch–zinc nanocomposite films have improved quality retention in tomato, cucumber, garden egg, and okra, demonstrating practical shelf-life benefits associated with enhanced barrier and mechanical properties (Fadeyibi et al., 2020; Fadeyibi et al., 2019a; Sahota et al., 2025; Fadeyibi et al., 2019b; Soman and Poddar, 2026; Fadeyibi et al., 2020; Fadeyibi et al., 2017). Similarly, integration of nanocomposite packaging with advanced non-thermal technologies has improved shelf life and quality attributes in horticultural and meat products (Fadeyibi et al., 2025b; Fadeyibi et al., 2017; Subramaniam et al., 2024). Thus, nanocomposite packaging functions as an engineered interface that simultaneously regulates mass transport, maintains structural integrity, and provides functional protection, supporting more effective, sustainable, and resource-conscious food preservation strategies (Adak et al., 2025; Chandra et al., 2025; Fadeyibi et al., 2025b; Fadeyibi et al., 2017; Subramaniam et al., 2024).

3 Active and intelligent nanocomposite systems under non-thermal processing

3.1 Active nanocomposite packaging systems

Active nanocomposite packaging refers to systems designed to interact directly with food or the internal package environment by releasing, scavenging, or transforming functional species in a controlled manner to extend shelf life and maintain quality. Unlike passive barriers, these systems actively modify the food microenvironment through embedded reactive nanofillers, encapsulated bioactive compounds, and functional additives that regulate oxidation, moisture migration, and microbial activity through coupled diffusion–reaction processes (Siciliano et al., 2025; Gholizadeh et al., 2007). Mechanistically, these functions have been interpreted in terms of concentration gradients and partitioning effects, where bioactive agents migrate from the polymer matrix to the food surface or headspace, often following Fickian or anomalous diffusion depending on polymer crystallinity and filler interactions. While these transport mechanisms provide a consistent basis for interpreting experimental observations, their relative contribution depends on the formulation and experimental conditions.

In these systems, nanocomposites act as controlled-delivery and reactive platforms, where nanofillers such as metal oxides, essential-oil-loaded carriers, and biopolymer-based nanostructures have been investigated for antimicrobial, antioxidant, ethylene-scavenging, and moisture-regulating functions. Experimental studies have associated antimicrobial activity with processes including ion release (e.g., Ag⁺, Zn²⁺), reactive oxygen species generation, and membrane disruption, while antioxidant effects have been linked to radical scavenging and redox buffering within the polymer matrix. Ethylene scavenging and gas regulation have similarly been interpreted through adsorption–diffusion interactions at nanoparticle interfaces. However, these mechanisms should be considered system-dependent interpretations rather than universal pathways because their contribution varies with nanofiller chemistry, loading, dispersion, polymer structure, and food composition. The effectiveness of these active systems is strongly governed by mass-transfer phenomena. Experimental studies have reported permeability reductions of approximately 20%–70% and reductions in diffusion coefficients of one to two orders of magnitude in selected optimized nanocomposites. Correspondingly, reported tortuosity factors have increased from near-unity values in neat polymers to approximately 2–10 in some nanocomposite systems. These quantitative results provide experimental evidence that nanofiller incorporation can modify molecular transport; however, the magnitude of the effect should not be generalized across all nanocomposites because it depends strongly on filler dispersion, loading, polymer morphology, temperature, humidity, and test methodology. These active functions are particularly important under non-thermal preservation conditions, where oxidative stress, moisture migration, and microbial spoilage pathways can influence degradation kinetics. By regulating oxygen ingress and water-vapour transfer and simultaneously enabling controlled release of functional agents, active nanocomposites can provide coupled transport–reaction barriers (Siciliano et al., 2025; Gholizadeh et al., 2007). Nevertheless, experimental evidence is generally stronger for individual functions such as barrier enhancement, antimicrobial activity, antioxidant activity, or controlled release than for their simultaneous operation under repeated non-thermal processing. Thus, the integrated transport–reaction behaviour should be regarded as a mechanistically supported synthesis of experimentally demonstrated functions, rather than as a universally validated system-level mechanism.

3.2 Intelligent nanocomposite packaging systems

Intelligent nanocomposite packaging systems are designed not to modify food conditions directly, but to sense, detect, and communicate changes in food quality or environmental conditions throughout storage and distribution. These systems function as diagnostic platforms that convert physicochemical, biochemical, or microbial changes into readable signals such as colour change, electrical response, or digital output (Zhang et al., 2022; Zhou et al., 2025). Experimental studies have demonstrated such responses for selected packaging materials, providing evidence that changes associated with food deterioration can be converted into measurable signals.

Intelligent systems integrate functional nanomaterials such as pH-sensitive dyes, biosensors, conductive nanofillers, and responsive polymers into packaging matrices to enable monitoring of spoilage indicators such as volatile amines, pH shifts, humidity changes, and gas composition. In these systems, transport regulation remains important because sensor response depends on the movement of analytes toward the sensing interface. Reported diffusion coefficients for analyte transport in intelligent films range from approximately 10^–12 to 10^–9 m² s^-1, while nanocomposite sensing films have exhibited tortuosity values of approximately 2–8. These values provide quantitative evidence for controlled analyte transport in selected systems, but they should be interpreted as material-specific measurements rather than universal characteristics of intelligent packaging. As illustrated in Figure 4, intelligent nanocomposite packaging can be conceptualized as a cyber–physical interface system in which non-thermal processing stresses interact with sensing elements and transport pathways. The experimental evidence supports individual components of this framework, including sensing, barrier performance, and material stability, whereas the complete simultaneous operation of these functions under dynamic non-thermal processing conditions remains less extensively validated.

Colorimetric indicators based on natural pigments such as anthocyanins remain widely used because of their simplicity and visual interpretability, while smartphone-assisted systems have extended functionality through digital quantification and real-time data interpretation (Cheng et al., 2022; Nowacka et al., 2021; Baker et al., 2025). Advanced hybrid systems incorporating TiO₂, graphene oxide, MXenes, nano-clays, and metallic nanoparticles have also demonstrated enhanced sensing, mechanical, or barrier characteristics (Palanisamy et al., 2024; Korumilli et al., 2024; Lemena et al., 2025; Parvin et al., 2025). However, for emerging MXene- and carbon-based nanosensors, evidence concerning industrial-scale scalability, long-term food-contact safety, nanoparticle migration, and stability under realistic processing conditions remains limited. Consequently, these technologies should be distinguished from more extensively demonstrated laboratory-scale sensing systems. Representative intelligent nanocomposite packaging technologies and their functional performance characteristics are summarized in Table 1. The integration of sensing, communication, and transport-control functionalities provides a basis for moving packaging beyond passive containment toward decision-support systems (Motedayen et al., 2019; Wu et al., 2023; Frangopoulos et al., 2025; Zhang et al., 2022; Zhou et al., 2025; Li et al., 2025b). However, the experimentally demonstrated sensing capability of individual components should not be interpreted as evidence that complete IoT-enabled adaptive packaging systems have already achieved industrial-scale validation.

TABLE 1. Representative intelligent nanocomposite packaging systems and their functional performance in food preservation applications.

4 Mechanistic interplay between non-thermal technologies and packaging performance

4.1 Pulsed electric field

Pulsed electric field (PEF) processing is applied at industrial scale, particularly for liquid foods and beverages, yet its performance can be constrained by packaging stability under high electric field conditions. In PEF systems, the electric field strength is commonly expressed in Equation 4:where V is the applied voltage and d is the effective material thickness. Typical industrial PEF operations operate in the range of ∼10–80 kV/cm, while dielectric breakdown in packaging materials generally occurs when local electric fields exceed material-dependent thresholds, often ∼50–300 kV/cm for common polymer films depending on crystallinity, moisture content, and filler content. These values provide experimentally relevant operating and material-performance ranges; however, dielectric behaviour remains strongly dependent on material composition, geometry, moisture, and field conditions.

E b = V d (4)

Conventional polymers such as PP and PET therefore present both advantages and limitations in PEF-compatible packaging: they offer good chemical stability and low cost, but their relatively low dielectric constants (∼2.0–3.5) and limited charge dissipation capacity can contribute to non-uniform field distribution and localized electrical stress. These effects provide a basis for interpreting the susceptibility of some polymer films to dielectric puncture under repeated pulsing conditions. As illustrated in Figure 5, incorporation of nanofillers such as graphene derivatives, carbon-based nanomaterials, and metal oxides has been experimentally investigated as a means of modifying PEF compatibility. Reported improvements include increases in dielectric constant to approximately 3–10 and improvements in breakdown strength of approximately 15%–60% in selected optimized systems. The proposed explanations involve charge trapping, interfacial polarization, including Maxwell–Wagner–Sillars effects, and more uniform electric-field distribution. These mechanisms are consistent with observed changes in dielectric behaviour, but their relative contribution should be regarded as formulation-dependent rather than universally established.

This behaviour is consistent with related developments in cellulose-based films modified through cold plasma polymerization, which demonstrated improved dielectric stability and barrier performance under non-thermal processing conditions (Lei et al., 2024). Circular-economy-driven material strategies further reinforce this direction, including eco-friendly plastics derived from cereal by-products, protein-based biopolymers, and valorised agricultural wastes that combine improved electrical resilience with enhanced sustainability credentials (Jafarzadeh et al., 2025; Patel et al., 2025; Kyei et al., 2025). Complementary studies incorporating bioactive resources such as pomegranate peel, date palm derivatives, and emerging protein-based films further illustrate the development of multifunctional packaging materials for non-thermal processing environments (Faria and Silva, 2024; Manai et al., 2024; Fan et al., 2024).

4.2 Cold plasma

Cold plasma achieves microbial inactivation primarily through the generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS), operating at near-ambient temperatures that preserve heat-sensitive nutrients. From a packaging compatibility perspective, experimental studies have shown that these reactive species can also induce oxidative degradation in conventional polymers. For example, low-density polyethylene may undergo chain scission, surface oxidation, and embrittlement, leading to increased oxygen permeability and reduced long-term storage stability (Umair et al., 2025). Thus, the key limitation lies in the susceptibility of standard packaging materials to plasma-induced oxidative stress, despite the technological advantage of non-thermal processing. Figure 6 illustrates how cold plasma modifies edible films through reactive species–driven surface activation, oxidation control, and structural tailoring to improve functional performance (Krishnendu and Singh, 2025). This provides the mechanistic basis for understanding how plasma–material interactions can be harnessed rather than merely mitigated.

Nanocomposite packaging systems address this challenge by simultaneously offering advantages and limitations in plasma environments. On the advantageous side, nanofillers such as cerium dioxide enable radical scavenging through reversible Ce³⁺/Ce⁴⁺ redox cycling, effectively neutralizing ROS and enhancing polymer durability under plasma exposure (Du S. et al., 2025). Similarly, antioxidant nanocomposites incorporating silver or flavonol-based systems suppress oxidative degradation and stabilize film integrity under radical-rich conditions (Martha P et al., 2021). Structural reinforcement via nanocellulose or polymer–nanoparticle hybrid networks further increases diffusion tortuosity, slowing radical penetration and improving barrier resistance to oxidative attack, consistent with enhanced oxygen and moisture resistance in biopolymer systems (Adak et al., 2025). These effects collectively improve packaging compatibility with cold plasma by mitigating surface degradation and preserving functional performance.

However, limitations remain. High nanofiller loading or poorly optimized dispersion may reduce film flexibility, increase brittleness, or create heterogeneous reactive sites that accelerate localized degradation under prolonged plasma exposure. In addition, antioxidant depletion over time may reduce long-term scavenging efficiency, particularly under repeated plasma cycles, limiting sustained protective performance (Krishnendu and Singh, 2025). These trade-offs highlight that plasma compatibility is not solely determined by material resistance but also by the stability of reactive-functionality balance within the nanocomposite matrix.

Beyond mitigation, cold plasma can also impart functional advantages to packaging systems. Zein-based nanoparticle systems combined with plasma-modified chitosan films have demonstrated dual antioxidant and antimicrobial activity in tilapia preservation, extending shelf life (Yang et al., 2026). Plasma-induced oxygen vacancies in ZnO/GO nanocomposites further enable immobilization of bioactive compounds and UV shielding, supporting protection against both microbial growth and photo-oxidation (Iqbal et al., 2025). Additional studies report enhanced microbial inactivation and contaminant degradation in plasma–nanocomposite systems, which is particularly relevant for complex food matrices (Vanlalhmingmawia et al., 2025a; Vanlalhmingmawia et al., 2025b). Overall, while cold plasma offers strong processing advantages, optimal packaging compatibility requires careful balancing of radical resistance, structural integrity, and long-term stability under repeated exposure conditions (Umair et al., 2025; Du S. et al., 2025; Martha P et al., 2021; Yang et al., 2026; Iqbal et al., 2025; Vanlalhmingmawia et al., 2025a; Vanlalhmingmawia et al., 2025b; Krishnendu and Singh, 2025).

4.3 High-pressure processing

High-pressure processing (HPP) exposes packaging to rapid compression–decompression cycles at pressures that can reach up to ∼600 MPa, with typical industrial operating ranges of ∼100–600 MPa depending on product type and process severity. Conventional polymers may develop microcracks, seal rupture, and oxygen ingress after repeated cycles because polymer chains do not dissipate compressive energy uniformly, particularly under cyclic loading where localized stress concentration dominates failure initiation. Under HPP conditions, the mechanical response of packaging materials is more accurately described using a viscoelastic framework rather than a simple static stress definition. Accordingly, the stress–strain behaviour can be represented in Equation 5 (Wan et al., 2023):where σ(t) is the time-dependent stress, ε(t) is the strain, and G(t) is the relaxation modulus describing the viscoelastic response of the material. For cyclic pressure loading typical of HPP operations, this can further be expressed using a Maxwell-type representation in Equation 6 (Wan et al., 2023):where E is the elastic modulus and η is the viscosity coefficient, capturing both instantaneous elastic deformation and time-dependent viscous relaxation.

σ t = ∫ 0 t G t − τ d ε τ d τ d τ (5)

d σ d t + σ η = E d ε d t (6)

Nanofillers improve HPP compatibility by redistributing applied hydrostatic stresses, deflecting crack propagation, and enhancing fracture resistance. Experimental studies have reported ∼20–100% increases in tensile strength and ∼30–200% improvements in fracture energy in selected well-designed nanocomposite films. These findings provide direct evidence of improved mechanical performance; however, the proposed mechanisms of stress transfer, crack deflection, and interfacial reinforcement remain dependent on filler dispersion and interfacial adhesion.

Vitrimer-based nanocomposites further demonstrate improved robustness, recyclability, and low energy dissipation under repeated pressure cycling (Zhao Y. et al., 2025), although their performance can be limited by processing complexity and sensitivity to network design. Similarly, all-polymer nanocomposites engineered for high strength and ultralow energy dissipation can resist repeated HPP cycles without irreversible cracking (Wan et al., 2023), but may exhibit reduced flexibility depending on crosslink density. Graphene-reinforced systems highlight the critical role of dispersion quality in stress transfer and viscoelastic stability, where agglomeration can significantly compromise fatigue resistance despite high intrinsic strength (Chen et al., 2025).

Cellulose nano fibre-based nanocomposites offer enhanced elasticity and reversible deformation during pressure cycles, with typical increases in strain-at-break (∼10–80%) and fracture toughness (∼1.5–3×) due to hydrogen-bonded networks and fibre pull-out mechanisms; however, excessive loading may increase stiffness and reduce sealability in packaging applications. Cross-linked nano fibre networks can delay crack initiation and reduce seal failure risk, improving packaging reliability under HPP conditions (Li et al., 2025a). Advanced reinforcements such as graphene oxide, aluminium oxide, and auxetic structures further support improved mechanical stability, but they also introduce trade-offs, including potential brittleness, altered thermal behaviour, or reduced processability depending on formulation (Chen et al., 2025; Shao et al., 2026b; Alawy et al., 2025).

Overall, while nanofillers significantly enhance HPP compatibility by improving strength, toughness, and structural resilience, limitations arise from dispersion challenges, interfacial instability, and property trade-offs such as reduced flexibility or increased brittleness. These competing effects highlight that optimal packaging design for HPP requires careful balancing of mechanical reinforcement and functional compliance to ensure both durability and sealing integrity under repeated pressure cycling (Zhao Y. et al., 2025; Wan et al., 2023; Chen et al., 2025; Shao et al., 2026b; Alawy et al., 2025; Saputra et al., 2025; Oketola et al., 2025; Das et al., 2024; Wang et al., 2021; Yu and Zhu, 2024).

4.4 Interactions of non-thermal processing fields in nanocomposite packaging systems

The interactions among non-thermal processing technologies are schematically presented in Figure 7 within a unified transport–regulation framework. The literature provides experimental evidence that PEF, cold plasma (CP), high hydrostatic pressure (HPP), and UV irradiation can individually modify material behaviour, including electrical, chemical, mechanical, optical, and barrier properties. However, the available evidence is substantially stronger for individual technology–material interactions than for their simultaneous interaction within a single packaging system. Therefore, the framework presented here should be interpreted as a critical synthesis of experimentally supported mechanisms together with proposed system-level interactions, rather than as a fully experimentally validated multi-field model. Under PEF exposure, the dominant interaction has been interpreted in terms of the applied electric field and the dielectric heterogeneity of the nanocomposite matrix. Experimental measurements demonstrate changes in dielectric properties and electrical stability following nanofiller incorporation. Charge accumulation, interfacial polarization, and field redistribution have been proposed to explain these changes (Pawase et al., 2025; Xie, 2024). The associated hypothesis that such electrostatic changes dynamically alter free volume and segmental mobility, thereby modifying diffusion pathways, provides a plausible mechanistic interpretation, but direct simultaneous experimental validation of this complete electro–diffusive coupling remains limited.

In cold plasma systems, the governing interaction shifts to reactive species–interface coupling, where ROS/RNS interact with polymer surfaces and nanofiller functionalities. Experimental studies demonstrate oxidative modification, radical scavenging, antimicrobial effects, and changes in material properties (Adak et al., 2025; Chandra et al., 2025). These observations support the existence of reactive species–material interactions, whereas the proposed balance among radical scavenging, catalytic decomposition, adsorption–desorption, and permeability regulation represents a mechanistic synthesis whose applicability depends on nanofiller chemistry and plasma conditions. For high hydrostatic pressure processing, the dominant mechanism is interpreted as mechanical–structural coupling. Experimental evidence demonstrates pressure-induced changes in mechanical integrity, fracture resistance, and permeability-related properties in selected nanocomposite systems (Zhao Y. et al., 2025; Wan et al., 2023; Chen et al., 2025). Nanofillers have been proposed to act as stress-transfer mediators that homogenize pressure distribution and suppress microstructural defects. These explanations are consistent with composite-mechanics principles and experimental observations, but the extent to which pressure-induced densification directly governs molecular transport remains dependent on polymer morphology, filler distribution, and processing history.

Under UV irradiation, the dominant interaction is photochemical–structural coupling, where photon absorption can trigger chain scission and crosslinking reactions within the polymer matrix. Experimental studies have demonstrated photostabilisation, ROS generation, antimicrobial activity, and changes in film properties (Palanisamy et al., 2024; Korumilli et al., 2024; Lemena et al., 2025; Parvin et al., 2025). Nanofillers can modulate these responses through photon absorption, radical quenching, or catalytic activity. However, the proposed spatially graded changes in crystallinity, free volume, diffusivity, and permeability represent a mechanistic interpretation that requires further direct validation across different material systems. Across all four technologies, the central governing principle can therefore be described as the interaction between externally applied fields and nanofiller-mediated interfacial networks. Experimental evidence supports changes in transport, electrical, chemical, mechanical, and optical properties, while the proposition that these effects operate synergistically as a single multi-physics coupling regime remains primarily a conceptual integration of individually demonstrated mechanisms. Rather than treating the framework as an experimentally established universal response, it is more appropriate to regard it as a testable hypothesis that provides a basis for future studies integrating dielectric characterization, radical measurements, pressure-induced deformation, optical analysis, permeability testing, and food-quality kinetics. Accordingly, nanofillers can be considered experimentally demonstrated modifiers of individual packaging properties, while their proposed role as active mediators of simultaneous cross-domain transport interactions remains an emerging research concept. To facilitate cross-technology comparison, Table 2 summarizes the key characteristics of each non-thermal processing method in terms of applied field type, dominant coupling mechanism, transport effects, nanofiller role, barrier response, and industrial relevance.

TABLE 2. Comparative coupling mechanisms and transport effects of non-thermal processing technologies in nanocomposite packaging systems.

5 Light-activated preservation and photo-stabilized nanocomposite systems

5.1 UV-C and LED irradiation challenges

UV-C and LED treatments are increasingly employed as clean-label, non-thermal technologies for microbial control because they inactivate microorganisms through photochemical damage to cellular components while minimizing thermal degradation of foods (Sazali et al., 2025; Zhao H. et al., 2025; Vignesh and Rout, 2025; Iervolino et al., 2025). As illustrated in Figure 8, their effectiveness depends on light transmission through the packaging material, photon absorption by photoactive nanofillers, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, microbial inactivation, and effects on food quality and package stability. Consequently, packaging materials must satisfy competing requirements: they must permit sufficient light penetration to maintain treatment efficacy while simultaneously resisting photodegradation to preserve mechanical integrity and barrier performance during storage (Sazali et al., 2025; Zhao H. et al., 2025; Vignesh and Rout, 2025; Iervolino et al., 2025). Experimental studies have demonstrated that conventional transparent polymers such as PET may experience chain scission, discoloration, and tensile-strength loss following repeated UV exposure, resulting in changes in oxygen permeability and storage stability (Shi and Lin, 2025). These systems can therefore be viewed as coupled transport–reaction processes in which light transport, oxygen diffusion, ROS generation, and oxidative reactions occur simultaneously within the food–package environment (Sunar and Özyürek, 2022; Adfar et al., 2025; Liu et al., 2025).

Nanocomposite packaging materials modulate light–matter interactions and ROS-mediated processes through multiple complementary mechanisms. ZnO nanoparticles have been experimentally investigated to act as UV absorbers and photostabilisers, dissipating incident energy and reducing polymer degradation by limiting photon-induced chain scission while maintaining film integrity (Badry et al., 2024; Vagena et al., 2024). In contrast, TiO₂ nanoparticles function as photocatalytic agents that generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) under irradiation, enabling antimicrobial activity through oxidative damage to microbial cell membranes, proteins, and nucleic acids (Badry et al., 2024; Vagena et al., 2024; Razack and Sadasivuni, 2025; Bikiaris et al., 2023; Sunar and Özyürek, 2022; Adfar et al., 2025; Liu et al., 2025). However, this ROS-generating advantage introduces a key limitation, as excessive ROS formation may also accelerate lipid oxidation, pigment degradation, and nutrient losses in sensitive food systems, requiring careful control of nanoparticle loading, dispersion, and irradiation dose (Sunar and Özyürek, 2022; Adfar et al., 2025; Liu et al., 2025).

To provide a clearer comparison of photostabilisation versus oxidation risk across key nanofillers, Table 3 summarizes their primary functions, benefits, and limitations under UV-assisted food packaging applications. Nanocellulose reinforcement contributes through improved mechanical strength and barrier performance while preserving optical transparency, thereby supporting efficient light transmission during UV-C or LED-based treatments (Antony et al., 2025). Similarly, graphene oxide enhances mechanical stability and reduces gas permeability; however, its effectiveness is strongly dependent on nanosheet orientation, dispersion quality, and loading level to avoid brittleness and processing limitations (Putra, 2025). Collectively, these mechanisms demonstrate that photo-functional nanocomposites act as engineered interfaces that regulate photon transport, ROS generation, barrier performance, and microbial inactivation. Their effective application in UV-C- and LED-assisted preservation systems therefore requires balanced control of ROS generation kinetics versus oxidation risk, alongside optimization of optical transmission and long-term film stability to ensure both microbial safety and quality retention (Sazali et al., 2025; Zhao H. et al., 2025; Vignesh and Rout, 2025; Iervolino et al., 2025; Antony et al., 2025; Putra, 2025; Shi and Lin, 2025; Badry et al., 2024; Vagena et al., 2024; Razack and Sadasivuni, 2025; Bikiaris et al., 2023; Sunar and Özyürek, 2022; Adfar et al., 2025; Liu et al., 2025).

TABLE 3. Photo-functional roles of nanofillers in UV-assisted nanocomposite packaging systems.

5.2 Integration with smart packaging

Light-activated nanocomposite systems provide an important extension of intelligent packaging by integrating preservation functionality with real-time monitoring capabilities. Experimental studies have demonstrated optical, antimicrobial, colourimetric, and photoluminescence responses in selected systems (Alzahrani et al., 2025; Huang et al., 2025; Chandarana et al., 2025; Mobahi et al., 2025). These findings establish that light stimulation can generate measurable physicochemical and sensory responses. The underlying mechanism is governed by photon–material interactions, where incident light energy triggers physicochemical responses in embedded photoactive components, enabling simultaneous antimicrobial action and sensory signalling. In chitosan–metal and metal oxide nanocomposites, light stimulation enhances antimicrobial performance through excitation-driven reactive pathways, while also enabling functional signalling for spoilage indication and environmental responsiveness (Alzahrani et al., 2025). This dual behaviour reflects a coupled mechanism in which optical excitation governs both microbial inactivation and observable changes in the packaging system.

Colorimetric and bioactive indicator systems further expand this concept. Anthocyanin-based films operate through a pH- and volatile-mediated chromophoric transformation mechanism, where changes in hydrogen ion concentration and spoilage-derived metabolites induce structural rearrangements in pigment molecules, resulting in visible colour transitions while simultaneously contributing antioxidant protection (Huang et al., 2025). Similarly, composite systems incorporating photoreactive nanomaterials introduce additional light-driven pathways. Honeysuckle extract/attapulgite/chitosan films embedded with natural carbon dots exhibit photoluminescence-based responses that enable freshness monitoring, while also contributing to antimicrobial activity through photo-induced reactive processes (Chandarana et al., 2025). Carrageenan-based films reinforced with lignin-derived carbon dots further demonstrate UV-responsive excitation mechanisms, where photon absorption leads to measurable optical changes that can be correlated with food freshness in real time (Mobahi et al., 2025).

The electrospun nano fibre membranes and carbon nanomaterial-based sensors provide high-surface-area platforms that facilitate efficient light absorption, charge transfer, and signal transduction. These structures enable the integration of photoactive compounds into flexible packaging systems and support the development of IoT-compatible sensing architectures capable of continuous monitoring and data transmission (Samanta et al., 2024). Despite these advances, the governing mechanism remains constrained by several unresolved factors. The performance of light-activated nanocomposites is strongly dependent on irradiation dose, photon penetration depth, and nanomaterial dispersion; however, most reported systems remain at laboratory scale with limited validation under real storage and processing conditions. In particular, long-term photostability, nanoparticle migration, photodegradation by-products, and safety implications under repeated irradiation cycles remain insufficiently understood (Possidónio et al., 2025).

To address these limitations, there is a clear need for standardized testing protocols that systematically evaluate (i) cumulative irradiation dose and exposure history, (ii) cyclic photostability under repeated UV-C/LED treatments, (iii) nanoparticle migration and release under storage-relevant conditions, and (iv) coupled food quality degradation kinetics (e.g., lipid oxidation, pigment loss, and nutrient retention). Such harmonized frameworks would enable consistent comparison across material systems and irradiation regimes, thereby improving reliability and facilitating translation from laboratory-scale studies to industrial food packaging applications. These mechanistic uncertainties highlight the need for standardized evaluation frameworks that integrate optical exposure history, transport dynamics, and food quality degradation kinetics to enable reliable translation from laboratory systems to industrial applications (Possidónio et al., 2025).

6 Artificial intelligence and IoT-enabled smart nanocomposite packaging systems

AI and IoT are increasingly enabling the transformation of food packaging from passive containment systems into integrated cyber–physical systems capable of real-time monitoring, predictive analytics, and data-driven decision-making across food supply chains. In contrast to conventional packaging, which functions primarily as a static barrier to moisture, oxygen, light, and mechanical stress and does not dynamically respond to biochemical and microbial changes occurring during storage and distribution (D’Almeida and de Albuquerque, 2024), smart nanocomposite packaging introduces embedded intelligence that allows continuous system–environment interaction. By integrating nano-sensors and wireless communication modules within the packaging matrix, these systems enable continuous detection of quality-relevant signals, real-time data transmission, and feedback-driven interventions aimed at reducing food waste and improving safety (D’Almeida and de Albuquerque, 2024).

As illustrated in Figure 9, these systems operate at the interface of transport phenomena and information processing, where physicochemical changes such as gas diffusion, moisture migration, and volatile release are transduced into measurable electrical, electrochemical, or optical signals. This transduction is enabled by functional nanomaterials including metal oxides, conductive polymers, carbon-based nanostructures, and quantum dots, which respond to analytes such as CO₂, O₂, NH₃, and ethylene through measurable changes in resistance, capacitance, fluorescence, or surface reactivity (Samanta et al., 2024). These signal transformations encode deterioration kinetics, enabling indirect estimation of microbial activity, respiration rate, and oxidative degradation pathways while linking transport phenomena directly to measurable information states within the packaging system.

6.1 AI for predictive and decision intelligence

At the computational level, AI provides the predictive and interpretive layer that converts multi-sensor outputs into actionable insights on food quality evolution, enabling data-driven linkage between physicochemical sensing signals and spoilage dynamics (Ekrami et al., 2025). Machine learning (ML) algorithms such as random forests and support vector machines (SVMs) are widely applied to capture nonlinear relationships between heterogeneous sensor signals and spoilage indicators, particularly in complex food matrices where coupled transport phenomena, microbial growth, and biochemical reactions occur simultaneously. These approaches are effective for structured datasets where key features such as gas concentration shifts, impedance variation, or optical signal changes can be explicitly extracted; however, their performance remains dependent on data quality and feature engineering strategies under real supply chain variability.

Deep learning (DL) architectures, especially recurrent neural networks (RNNs) and long short-term memory (LSTM) models, extend this capability by capturing temporal dependencies in spoilage evolution under dynamic storage environments where microbial kinetics and enzymatic degradation evolve nonlinearly over time (Tarlak, 2023). These architectures are particularly suited for time-series packaging data because they retain historical dependencies, enabling improved prediction of shelf-life endpoints and transition thresholds between freshness and spoilage states. In more advanced implementations, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) integrate multi-dimensional feature spaces derived from volatile organic compound fingerprints, temperature–humidity histories, and packaging permeability characteristics, thereby improving robustness in spoilage classification and shelf-life prediction tasks (Ramadan et al., 2025). Recent hybrid approaches combining CNN–LSTM and attention-based models further enhance performance by jointly capturing spatial–temporal dependencies in noisy, multimodal packaging datasets, improving generalizability under real-world storage and distribution conditions.

Recent developments further extend AI from predictive modelling toward system-level food design and process intelligence. In this context, AI-driven strategies for next-generation smart and safe foods demonstrate how machine learning frameworks can support 4D food pre-printing systems, where structural evolution, rheological behaviour, and safety transformations are predicted and optimized prior to processing, enabling proactive control of food quality trajectories before processing begins (Ekrami et al., 2025). In parallel, AI-integrated bio-nanocomposite packaging systems illustrate how machine intelligence can be embedded directly into packaging architectures to enable simultaneous sensing, prediction, and adaptive functional regulation, transforming packaging into an intelligent decision-support interface within food systems (Mobahi et al., 2025). Beyond prediction, reinforcement learning (RL) is emerging as a control-oriented framework within smart packaging and supply chain systems. In this paradigm, packaging environments are formulated as dynamic state spaces in which RL agents optimize sequential decision policies based on continuous sensor feedback. This enables adaptive regulation of active packaging functions such as antimicrobial release, oxygen scavenging kinetics, and humidity control, while also allowing coordination with non-thermal processing technologies (e.g., pulsed electric fields, PEF) to minimize quality loss and maintain microbial safety (Ekrami et al., 2025). However, the distinction between experimentally demonstrated prediction and proposed autonomous control is important. While AI models have demonstrated predictive capability in selected experimental datasets, fully integrated closed-loop AI control of nanocomposite packaging remains an emerging concept requiring validation under realistic and variable operating conditions.

6.2 IoT and connectivity infrastructure

IoT provides the enabling communication backbone for smart nanocomposite packaging systems, linking distributed sensing nodes to cloud-based analytics platforms, edge computing units, and decision-support systems. This connectivity transforms packaging from a static protective barrier into a continuously communicating cyber–physical entity capable of real-time environmental monitoring, traceability, and data-driven decision support across complex and distributed food supply chains.

IoT-enabled systems operate at the interface of transport phenomena and information transfer, where physicochemical processes such as gas diffusion, moisture migration, and volatile release are converted into measurable electrical, electrochemical, or optical signals. Functional nanomaterials, including metal oxides, conductive polymers, carbon nanostructures, and quantum dots, act as transducer elements that convert analyte exposure into quantifiable signal variations such as resistance shifts, capacitance changes, fluorescence intensity modulation, or surface potential variations. These signal outputs encode deterioration kinetics, enabling continuous monitoring of food quality evolution and indirect estimation of microbial growth, respiration rate, and oxidative degradation pathways (D’Almeida and de Albuquerque, 2024). In advanced implementations, these sensing outputs are increasingly synchronized with AI-driven analytics and digital twin frameworks to support predictive traceability and condition-based decision-making across storage and logistics networks.

At the network level, IoT integration relies on embedded communication technologies such as RFID, NFC, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs), which enable scalable, low-energy, and real-time data exchange between packaging units, mobile devices, edge gateways, and cloud infrastructure. This multi-layered connectivity architecture supports end-to-end traceability, dynamic logistics optimization, and supply chain transparency, thereby strengthening food safety management, improving inventory control, and reducing postharvest losses. In addition, the integration of edge computing reduces latency and enhances system robustness by enabling local preprocessing of sensor data before cloud transmission, which is critical under bandwidth-constrained or high-volume supply chain conditions.

Despite these advancements, IoT-enabled smart packaging systems still face challenges related to signal drift, energy efficiency constraints, interoperability of heterogeneous devices, and data security vulnerabilities, particularly when deployed at industrial scale. These limitations highlight the need for standardized communication protocols and robust system architectures that integrate sensor physics, transport phenomena, and data analytics within unified IoT frameworks for reliable real-world deployment.

6.3 Digital twins, IoTs connectivity, and traceability

Digital twin technology extends smart packaging into a dynamic virtual–physical modelling framework in which the physical packaged food system is continuously mirrored by a computational replica updated in real time using IoT-derived sensor inputs. In this architecture, the digital twin integrates mechanistic transport models (mass and heat transfer), reaction kinetics (microbial growth/inactivation and enzymatic degradation), and packaging material response models (permeability evolution, barrier fatigue, and nanocomposite–environment interactions) to simulate time-evolving food quality under variable storage and distribution conditions (Guidani et al., 2024; Cordeiro and Ferreira, 2025; Hassoun, 2025). At a more advanced level, physics-informed digital twins combine first-principles models with data-driven correction layers (e.g., Kalman filtering or Bayesian updating) to reduce uncertainty in parameters such as diffusion coefficients, microbial growth rate constants, and activation energies, enabling more accurate prediction of shelf-life trajectories under non-isothermal and fluctuating humidity conditions.

As illustrated in application studies (Guidani et al., 2024; Cordeiro and Ferreira, 2025), digital twins for fresh-cut salad systems incorporate coupled respiration–diffusion models where O₂/CO₂ exchange kinetics are linked to enzymatic browning pathways and microbial proliferation, enabling scenario testing for different packaging geometries and distribution routes. These models can run predictive simulations for route optimization, dynamically evaluating temperature–time abuse profiles and identifying logistics pathways that minimize cumulative quality loss and spoilage risk (Guidani et al., 2024). In seafood systems, blockchain-linked digital twins further enhance model reliability by anchoring sensor streams (e.g., temperature, pH, gas composition, and volatile amines) to immutable transaction records, enabling validated estimation of remaining shelf-life through traceable degradation histories (Cordeiro and Ferreira, 2025). This integration effectively converts the packaging system into a continuously learning digital representation that supports predictive decision-making across the cold chain, consistent with Industry 4.0 principles of cyber–physical intelligence and autonomous supply chain optimization (Hassoun, 2025).

A key technical constraint in scaling digital twin systems lies in interoperability across heterogeneous IoT and data platforms, where differences in communication protocols, data semantics, and system architectures limit seamless integration (Ekrami et al., 2025). Emerging interoperability frameworks such as FIWARE (Context Broker–based smart data ecosystems) and oneM2M (global IoT service layer standardization architecture) provide structured solutions for harmonizing data exchange, enabling standardized semantic models, and supporting cross-platform device integration in smart packaging ecosystems (Cordeiro and Ferreira, 2025; Hassoun, 2025). These frameworks are particularly relevant for ensuring consistent data mapping between sensor nodes, edge devices, cloud analytics, and digital twin environments, thereby improving system scalability and cross-supply-chain compatibility.

IoT connectivity forms the data acquisition backbone of these digital twin systems by enabling continuous, low-latency communication between embedded sensors and external computational platforms. Smart packaging systems typically use short-range and low-power communication protocols such as Near Field Communication (NFC), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), each selected based on energy constraints, read range, and data throughput requirements. BLE-enabled nanocellulose-based films, for example, have been engineered with embedded conductive nanomaterial networks that transduce freshness indicators (e.g., ammonia release, humidity shifts, and pH-sensitive colorimetric changes) into wireless signals transmitted directly to mobile devices for real-time quality assessment (Du L. et al., 2025). Similarly, RFID-integrated antimicrobial nano-coatings combine passive or semi-passive sensing with cold-chain tracking functionality, enabling simultaneous monitoring of environmental exposure and microbial suppression performance in perishable poultry systems (Sun et al., 2025). When combined with blockchain infrastructures, IoT-enabled packaging systems gain an additional layer of data integrity and traceability. In such frameworks, each sensor event (e.g., temperature excursion, gas concentration shift, or package opening) is cryptographically recorded in distributed ledgers, ensuring tamper resistance and auditability across the supply chain. Blockchain–IoT architectures applied to packaged beef systems have demonstrated improved transparency in freshness labeling and reduced risk of data manipulation, thereby strengthening consumer trust and regulatory compliance (Pavithra et al., 2025). In more advanced implementations, smart contracts can be used to automate conditional actions, such as triggering alerts when predicted shelf-life falls below a threshold or releasing quality certifications based on validated sensor histories.

Despite these advances, the scalability of digital twin–IoT–blockchain ecosystems remain constrained by several technical and infrastructural limitations. Real-world supply chains often contain missing sensor streams, inconsistent sampling frequencies, and heterogeneous data platforms, limiting model updating and predictive robustness (Maurya et al., 2025). In addition, interoperability challenges across heterogeneous IoT platforms persist even with emerging standards, as partial implementation, vendor-specific extensions, and inconsistent semantic ontologies hinder full system convergence. Cybersecurity also presents a critical challenge, as sensor networks, wireless communication channels, and actuator-enabled packaging systems may be vulnerable to data spoofing, interception, or unauthorized manipulation. Furthermore, while blockchain enhances trust and traceability, it introduces non-trivial computational overhead and energy demand, which may reduce feasibility in cost-sensitive and low-margin food sectors. Addressing these combined challenges is essential for transitioning digital twin-enabled smart packaging systems from pilot-scale demonstrations to scalable, industrial-level deployment (Maurya et al., 2025). Consequently, digital twins should currently be considered a developing integration framework grounded in experimentally demonstrated sensing and modelling components, rather than a fully validated autonomous packaging technology.

6.4 System-level challenges and integration gaps

Despite these advances, most AI- and IoT-enabled smart packaging systems remain at a proof-of-concept or laboratory validation stage, with limited translation to industrial-scale deployment. Key performance bottlenecks include sensor drift, baseline instability, hysteresis effects, and signal interference under real supply chain conditions, where temperature fluctuations, humidity variation, mechanical vibration, and repeated loading/unloading cycles can collectively degrade sensing accuracy and long-term stability (D’Almeida and de Albuquerque, 2024; Kumar et al., 2024; Tarlak, 2023). These issues are further compounded by material–sensor coupling effects, where changes in polymer free volume, nanofiller dispersion state, and interfacial charge distribution alter transduction consistency over time.

In addition, the absence of standardized protocols for multi-sensor data fusion and preprocessing significantly limits reproducibility across ML/DL models. Variability in feature extraction methods, calibration procedures, and dataset structuring leads to model fragmentation, reducing generalizability across different food systems, packaging materials, and storage conditions (Mobahi et al., 2025; Samanta et al., 2024; Ekrami et al., 2025). This lack of harmonization also restricts benchmarking of AI performance for spoilage prediction, shelf-life estimation, and anomaly detection across studies. These challenges collectively highlight the need for unified engineering frameworks that integrate transport phenomena, sensor physics, material stability, AI analytics, and IoT communication architectures within a single system-level model. Within this framework, digital twin technology emerges as a critical enabler by creating real-time virtual replicas of packaged food systems that continuously synchronize with sensor data to simulate degradation kinetics, predict remaining shelf life, and evaluate “what-if” storage and logistics scenarios under varying environmental conditions. This enables proactive decision-making and enhances predictive robustness beyond static AI models.

Furthermore, traceability frameworks enabled through IoT connectivity and blockchain-compatible data structures provide an additional layer of system reliability by ensuring transparent tracking of product history, environmental exposure, and quality evolution across the entire supply chain (Samanta et al., 2024; Ekrami et al., 2025). When integrated with digital twins, such traceability systems allow end-to-end reconstruction of food lifecycle dynamics, improving accountability, safety assurance, and regulatory compliance. Such integrated frameworks should incorporate coupled mass–heat–electrical transport modelling, sensor degradation kinetics, and adaptive AI calibration strategies to ensure robustness under operational variability. Ultimately, this system-level convergence is essential to guarantee reliable performance of smart nanocomposite packaging under real-world conditions and to enable the transition from laboratory-scale prototypes to fully functional industrial cyber–physical food systems. Nevertheless, these technologies should not be interpreted as evidence of a fully validated cyber–physical packaging system. Rather, they represent experimentally demonstrated components that can be integrated into a proposed system-level architecture.

7 Applications across food sectors

Smart nanocomposite packaging integrated with non-thermal technologies is increasingly being applied across diverse food sectors, as summarized in Table 4. These systems enhance quality preservation, safety assurance, traceability, and waste reduction. However, because deterioration mechanisms vary significantly across food categories, their effective deployment requires application-specific design of materials and system configurations rather than a universal approach (Khedr and Crop, 2024; Park et al., 2021; Said and Lee, 2025; Yang D. et al., 2025; Sharma et al., 2025; Tunc and Akyuz, 2024; Chakraborty et al., 2025; Sun et al., 2025).

TABLE 4. Applications of smart nanocomposite packaging coupled with non-thermal technologies across food sectors.

7.1 Fresh produce

Fresh produce deteriorates rapidly due to tightly coupled physiological and biochemical processes, including respiration, ethylene-mediated ripening, moisture loss, and surface microbial growth. Recent advances in smart packaging have demonstrated that nano-sensors embedded within biodegradable nanocomposite films can detect volatile biomarkers such as ethylene, acetaldehyde, and ethanol, which act as early indicators of ripening progression and incipient spoilage.

As illustrated in Figure 10, nanocellulose-based films incorporating graphene oxide nano-sensors enable real-time ethylene detection with high sensitivity, allowing early identification of physiological changes before visible quality degradation occurs (Khedr and Crop, 2024). The figure further highlights the full sensing–communication–prediction loop, where ethylene signals generated during respiration are transduced into electrical responses, transmitted via IoT modules, and processed by AI models to predict ripening trajectories under specific storage conditions. In this integrated framework, artificial intelligence algorithms map sensor-derived ethylene dynamics to spoilage kinetics, enabling predictive estimation of shelf-life evolution under controlled and fluctuating environmental conditions (Khedr and Crop, 2024). This AI layer not only interprets real-time gas emission profiles but also supports decision-making for storage optimization by identifying critical transition points in ripening stages.

Beyond passive monitoring, IoT-enabled packaging systems have been coupled with AI-triggered intervention strategies, including controlled cold plasma activation, to actively delay senescence and regulate metabolic activity. For instance, tomato packaging systems integrating ethylene sensing, AI prediction, and plasma response demonstrated suppression of ripening processes while preserving key quality attributes such as lycopene concentration and vitamin C retention under experimental conditions (Park et al., 2021). This establishes a closed-loop control system in which sensing, prediction, and actuation operate in coordination to regulate postharvest physiology. Despite these advances, a key limitation remains the long-term stability and calibration robustness of embedded sensors under real distribution conditions. Environmental fluctuations such as humidity variation, temperature cycling, and mechanical stress during transport can alter sensor baselines, reduce signal fidelity, and degrade predictive accuracy over time. These challenges underscore the need for improved material stability, self-calibrating sensor systems, and rigorous validation under realistic supply chain conditions to ensure reliable deployment of AI–IoT-enabled smart packaging systems (Khedr and Crop, 2024; Park et al., 2021).

7.2 Beverages and liquid foods

Beverages and juices are sensitive to microbial contamination. Pulsed electric fields are already used commercially, but matrix variability complicates parameter selection. Smart packaging concepts using conductivity-sensitive nanocomposites have been proposed as feedback tools. Pectin–silver nanoparticle composites have been reported to monitor conductivity and feed machine-learning models that adjusted pulse sequences, reducing energy input while maintaining microbial safety in study-specific settings (Said and Lee, 2025). Nano-sensor feedback has also been integrated with reinforcement learning to reduce nutrient degradation in apple-juice processing demonstrations (Yang D. et al., 2025).

These findings provide experimental evidence that sensor feedback and AI can contribute to process optimization in selected beverage systems. However, the generalization of these models across beverage types remains limited because AI performance depends on training-data diversity and process conditions (Said and Lee, 2025; Yang D. et al., 2025). Thus, the demonstrated results should be regarded as system-specific experimental validation rather than universal evidence for autonomous AI-controlled PEF processing.

7.3 Dairy

Milk and fermented dairy products require microbial safety while preserving protein structure and texture. High-pressure processing is widely used, but overprocessing can trigger aggregation and texture defects. Nano-clay/protein hybrid films with embedded pH and aggregation sensors have been reported to monitor structural changes during HPP, while AI models have been used to guide pressure profiles and reduce quality loss in study-specific contexts (Sharma et al., 2025). Oxidative nano-sensors in nanocomposite milk pouches have also been explored for early detection of oxidation and shelf-life prediction (Tunc and Akyuz, 2024). These studies provide experimental evidence for sensing and AI-assisted process optimization in selected dairy systems. However, industrial feasibility remains uncertain because sensors must remain accurate under repeated handling and long storage and must be cost-effective at high throughput. Therefore, the reported demonstrations should be distinguished from validated industrial-scale autonomous control.

7.4 Meat and seafood

Meat and seafood are highly sensitive to microbial contamination and lipid oxidation. Cold plasma can inactivate microorganisms, but its ROS can also accelerate lipid oxidation and discoloration. Multifunctional nanocomposites have therefore been investigated to manage these competing effects. Cerium oxide nanoparticle films have been reported to scavenge ROS and delay rancidity in fish storage, while AI models using aldehyde-release signals have been used to predict oxidation kinetics in controlled studies (Chakraborty et al., 2025). Beef packaging has also been coupled with aldehyde-sensitive nanosensors and blockchain-enabled IoT systems, improving traceability and enabling proactive storage adjustments in reported demonstrations (Sun et al., 2025). These studies demonstrate selected preservation, sensing, prediction, and traceability functions; however, their combination should not be interpreted as equivalent to complete industrial validation. Nanoparticle migration, regulatory approval, long-term sensor stability, and the cost and computational burden of blockchain systems remain important constraints (Chakraborty et al., 2025; Sun et al., 2025).

7.5 Cross-sector implications

Across sectors, smart nanocomposite packaging combined with non-thermal processing supports a shift from static barriers toward systems capable of sensing and, in selected demonstrations, prediction and response (Table 4). However, the evidence varies considerably in maturity. Experimental validation is relatively clear for individual material, sensing, preservation, and modelling functions, whereas integrated AI–IoT–non-thermal closed-loop systems remain less extensively validated. Standardized testing protocols are still scarce, long-term nano-sensor stability remains uncertain, and regulatory treatment of nanomaterials and embedded electronics remains fragmented (El Alami El Hassani et al., 2025). These limitations indicate that movement from pilot demonstrations to industrial deployment requires not only technological integration but also independent validation under realistic supply-chain conditions.

8 Challenges and future prospects

8.1 Barriers to adoption

Despite rapid advances, several barriers still limit the widespread adoption of AI-integrated smart nanocomposite packaging, particularly when combined with non-thermal technologies. Food-contact safety and potential nanomaterial migration remain among the most important unresolved issues. Nanoparticles incorporated into polymer matrices may undergo release or desorption, followed by diffusion through the polymer, transport toward the film–food interface, and subsequent migration into the food phase. The extent of this process depends on nanoparticle characteristics, polymer free volume and crystallinity, nanoparticle–polymer interactions, temperature, contact time, and food properties such as pH, moisture, ionic strength, and lipid content. Polymer degradation or structural disruption may further facilitate nanoparticle release (Singh, 2022). Thus, the presence of a nanomaterial in a packaging film does not by itself establish a uniform migration risk; rather, migration is strongly dependent on the material structure and the conditions to which the package is exposed.

This distinction becomes particularly important under realistic storage and processing conditions. Most experimental demonstrations of nanocomposite packaging focus on barrier performance, mechanical stability, antimicrobial activity, or shelf-life extension, whereas comparatively less attention is given to the fate of the nanomaterial during prolonged food contact and subsequent processing. In particular, temperature fluctuations, moisture exposure, prolonged contact time, mechanical stresses, and changes in food composition can alter polymer mobility and interfacial interactions and thereby influence release behaviour. Similarly, non-thermal technologies such as radiofrequency treatment, ultrasound, and non-ionizing irradiation may modify polymer structure, nanoparticle dispersion, molecular mobility, and interfacial properties, potentially changing the transport pathways within the packaging system (Singh, 2022; Fadeyibi et al., 2025b; Fadeyibi et al., 2017; Subramaniam et al., 2024). Consequently, safety assessment should not rely solely on migration measurements obtained under static laboratory conditions but should consider the combined effects of storage, food-contact environment, mechanical stress, and processing history.

The available evidence also indicates an important distinction between the functional performance and safety assessment of nanocomposite packaging. Existing studies using cassava starch–zinc nanocomposite films have demonstrated improvements in the preservation of tomatoes, cucumber, garden egg, and okra under storage conditions, while other studies have demonstrated benefits from integrating nanocomposite packaging with advanced processing technologies (Fadeyibi et al., 2020; Fadeyibi et al., 2019a; Sahota et al., 2025; Fadeyibi et al., 2019b; Soman and Poddar, 2026; Fadeyibi et al., 2020; Fadeyibi et al., 2025b; Fadeyibi et al., 2017; Subramaniam et al., 2024). However, improved shelf-life or barrier performance does not necessarily demonstrate the absence of nanoparticle release. Therefore, future studies should evaluate packaging functionality together with migration behaviour, particularly following extended storage and exposure to processing conditions. Such assessments should distinguish between particulate nanomaterial release and the dissolution of soluble nanofiller constituents, because these processes may have different implications for food-contact safety.

Toxicological evaluation therefore represents a complementary requirement to migration assessment. Detecting a migrating substance is not equivalent to demonstrating a toxicological hazard, while the absence of detectable migration under one experimental condition cannot necessarily be extrapolated to all food-contact applications. Comprehensive evaluation should consider the nature and concentration of the migrating species, exposure duration, potential bioaccumulation, and interactions with biological systems (Possidónio et al., 2025). Particular attention is warranted for packaging systems containing emerging nanomaterials and multifunctional nanosensors, for which long-term food-contact evidence remains comparatively limited. This is especially relevant where nanocomposite films are subjected to repeated or combined processing stresses, because changes in polymer structure or nanoparticle dispersion may modify their release behaviour over time.

Regulatory requirements further complicate the translation of these materials from laboratory research to commercial food-contact applications. Nanocomposite packaging may simultaneously involve requirements relating to food-contact materials, nanomaterials, active or intelligent packaging, and the specific non-thermal processing technology employed. Differences in regulatory approaches and assessment requirements across jurisdictions can therefore increase compliance complexity and constrain international deployment (Possidónio et al., 2025; Maurya et al., 2025). Regulatory assessment should consequently be linked to the intended application, including the nanomaterial identity and physicochemical characteristics, polymer matrix, food-contact conditions, expected storage duration, temperature, processing exposure, and potential migration pathways rather than relying on material classification alone.

Consumer acceptance also presents a challenge, as limited transparency and weak communication concerning the benefits and potential risks of nanotechnology and AI-enabled food systems may contribute to public scepticism (D’Almeida and de Albuquerque, 2024). This makes transparent safety evaluation and communication particularly important for smart packaging systems that combine nanomaterials, embedded sensors, and digital connectivity. In parallel, cybersecurity and data-governance issues arise from IoT-enabled packaging, where vulnerabilities involving data manipulation, unauthorized access, or inappropriate activation of smart functions may compromise supply-chain integrity and consumer trust (Maurya et al., 2025). Interoperability limitations across heterogeneous digital and logistics platforms further restrict integration into existing food distribution networks (Maurya et al., 2025).

From an economic perspective, cost remains a major constraint, especially for low-margin products and SMEs. The combined expenses associated with nano-sensor fabrication, embedded electronics, AI model development, and IoT infrastructure increase overall system complexity and investment requirements. Technical durability is another unresolved challenge. Sensor performance can degrade under real distribution conditions involving temperature fluctuations, humidity changes, light exposure, and mechanical vibration, potentially resulting in signal drift and reduced reliability outside controlled laboratory environments (D’Almeida and de Albuquerque, 2024; Kumar et al., 2024; Tarlak, 2023). Moreover, many systems remain at the proof-of-concept stage and lack pilot-scale validation, long-term performance data, and comprehensive cost–benefit analyses required for industrial translation (Possidónio et al., 2025; Maurya et al., 2025). Addressing these safety, regulatory, economic, and scalability gaps through application-specific migration testing, realistic storage and processing simulations, integrated toxicological assessment, standardized regulatory evaluation, simplified system designs, and cost–benefit optimization for SME adoption will be essential for achieving reliable and widespread deployment of smart nanocomposite packaging technologies.

8.2 Future perspectives

The convergence of nanotechnology, AI, IoT connectivity, and non-thermal processing is likely to redefine food packaging as an adaptive, sustainable, and data-driven system. Future packaging platforms may be fully biodegradable or even edible, while still supporting sensing and communication. Such systems could detect spoilage markers, such as VOC profiles, pH changes, and oxidation products. They could respond through controlled release of antimicrobials or antioxidants, or by triggering preservation interventions through connected processing equipment (Jyoti et al., 2025; Kader et al., 1989; Yang et al., 2024; D’Almeida and de Albuquerque, 2024). Blockchain-enabled traceability may secure these data streams. It can support tamper-resistant freshness records and strengthen trust in food authenticity (Yang et al., 2024; Pavithra et al., 2025). These applications should, however, be regarded as future or proposed capabilities rather than universally validated technologies.

Digital twins are expected to become more influential because they can combine real-time sensor data with mechanistic models of microbial kinetics, nutrient degradation, and package transport properties (Guidani et al., 2024; Cordeiro and Ferreira, 2025; Hassoun, 2025). This integration could support predictive control of non-thermal technologies such as cold plasma, PEF, UV-C, and HPP. However, the realization of these capabilities requires experimental validation of model accuracy, sensor reliability, uncertainty, interoperability, and performance under fluctuating real-world conditions. Future research should therefore progress from experimentally validated component functions toward integrated system validation. Priority areas include direct testing of proposed transport mechanisms, standardized sensor characterization, long-term migration and safety studies, independent validation of AI models, pilot-scale digital-twin testing, and real-world evaluation of integrated AI–IoT packaging systems.

Interdisciplinary collaboration will be essential. Material scientists, food engineers, toxicologists, and data scientists must work with policymakers and consumer groups. The goal is to ensure safety, acceptance, and equitable adoption. The most impactful advances will likely come from low-migration bio-derived nanomaterials, scalable roll-to-roll sensor fabrication, and standardized datasets for AI training across food categories (Adak et al., 2025; Chandra et al., 2025; Possidónio et al., 2025; Maurya et al., 2025). If these advances are achieved, packaging will evolve into a cyber-physical interface that actively safeguards food, reduces waste, improves transparency, and strengthens global supply-chain resilience (Hassoun, 2025; El Alami El Hassani et al., 2025).

9 Conclusion

Smart nanocomposite packaging represents a transition from passive containment toward multifunctional systems capable of regulating mass, heat, and energy transfer while providing sensing and data-driven monitoring under non-thermal processing and distribution conditions. The literature reviewed in this study provides experimental evidence for several component-level functions, including changes in diffusion and permeability, mechanical stability, dielectric behaviour, antimicrobial and antioxidant activity, spoilage sensing, and selected AI-assisted prediction. The evidence, however, should not be interpreted uniformly. Experimentally measured changes in permeability, mechanical properties, sensor responses, microbial inhibition, oxidation, and food-quality attributes provide the strongest basis for conclusions at the material and component levels. Mechanistic explanations involving diffusion, tortuosity, interfacial polarization, radical scavenging, stress transfer, photon–material interactions, and coupled transport provide scientifically plausible interpretations of these observations, but their relative contributions remain dependent on material formulation and processing conditions. At the system level, the integration of nanocomposites with non-thermal processing, AI, IoT, digital twins, and blockchain represents an emerging framework supported by experimentally demonstrated component technologies. However, simultaneous multi-field interactions, autonomous closed-loop control, long-term sensor stability, digital-twin updating, nanoparticle migration, and real-world supply-chain performance remain incompletely validated.

A key conceptual contribution of this review is therefore the integration of transport phenomena with AI–IoT-enabled smart packaging frameworks under non-thermal processing conditions, while explicitly distinguishing experimentally demonstrated findings from mechanistic interpretation and proposed system-level integration. This distinction provides a more critical basis for assessing technological maturity and identifying research priorities. Despite progress in understanding diffusion, permeability, energy dissipation, sensing, and material responses in nanocomposite systems, challenges remain, particularly regarding nanomaterial migration, long-term sensor stability, data security, regulatory harmonization, and industrial scalability. Addressing these challenges through integrated biophysical modelling, standardized evaluation protocols, independent AI validation, and scalable manufacturing strategies will be essential for translating laboratory demonstrations into reliable industrial applications. Ultimately, the experimentally supported capabilities of intelligent packaging provide a strong foundation for further development, while the proposed multi-physics and cyber–physical frameworks require continued experimental validation before their full industrial potential can be established.

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Footnotes

Edited by: Heera Jayan, Jiangsu University, China

Reviewed by: Xuesong Xie, University of Alberta, Canada

Maneesh Kumar Poddar, National Institute of Technology, Karnataka, India