Contents

Client Citation Analysis

Biodegradable films from soyhull cellulosic residue with UV protection and antioxidant properties improve the shelf-life of post-harvested raspberries

This study develops and characterizes an optimized soyhull cellulosic residue (SCR) biodegradable film and reports film surface wettability via water contact angle measured on the film surface.

At-a-Glance Summary

Dropometer attribution in the paper

The paper attributes sessile-drop water contact angle measurement to a “Dropometer (Droplet Lab, Canada)”, using smartphone image capture and sessile drop software to calculate WCA.

How the surface-tension / contact-angle data were used in the study

WCA is used as the study’s quantitative indicator of film surface hydrophobicity/wettability for the optimized film, and is discussed using a hydrophilic/hydrophobic interpretation threshold alongside comparisons to other film types cited in the discussion.

Replication / reliability statement

An average value from triplicate measurements is reported.

Paper Details

Title
Biodegradable films from soyhull cellulosic residue with UV protection and antioxidant properties improve the shelf-life of post-harvested raspberries
Authors
Sumi Regmi; Srinivas Janaswamy
Journal
Food Chemistry
Year
2024
Volume
460
Pages / Article
140672
License
© 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.
18.3
Scopus metrics (Elsevier / Scopus rating 2024)
CiteScore 2024
Scopus metrics (Elsevier / Scopus rating 2024)
CiteScore subject ranks (CiteScore 2024)
  • Q1 - Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry (3/160)
  • Q1 - Agricultural and Biological Sciences - Food Science (10/404)
2.153
Scopus metrics (Elsevier / Scopus rating 2024)
SNIP 2024
1.952
Scopus metrics (Elsevier / Scopus rating 2024)
SJR 2024
9.8
Journal Impact Factor (Clarivate JCR)
Journal Impact Factor (JCR )

What Was Measured

Primary surface / interfacial measurement

Water contact angle (WCA) was measured on the film surface and reported as a wettability/hydrophobicity indicator for the optimized SCR film.

Supporting measurements

The optimized film is characterized with mechanical properties (tensile strength and elongation at break), water vapor permeability, optical behavior (UV/visible/IR transmittance and transparency), and additional film property measurements that contextualize packaging performance in the study.

Instruments Mentioned

Water contact angle

Dropometer (Droplet Lab, Canada)

Film tensile properties (TS, EB)

Texture Analyzer from Stable Micro Systems (Model TA-HD plus; serial no: 5529)

Film color

Nix color sensor Pro 2 (Model no: NIXPRO002, Canada)

Film thickness

digital Vernier caliper (RexBeti, China)

UV blocking / transparency (transmittance)

UV–Vis spectrophotometer (VWR International, USA, Model no: UV-1600PC, 10037–436)

FTIR spectroscopy

FTIR spectrophotometer Spectrum 100 from PerkinElmer

Experimental design / statistics

Design Expert 13 (Trial version); R software (RStudio 2022.07.01); Microsoft Excel for Mac (version 16.80) Solver add-ins

Role of the Dropometer

The study uses the Dropometer to measure sessile-drop water contact angle on the film surface: the film is placed on the instrument mount, a water droplet is deposited on the surface, the droplet is imaged using a smartphone interfaced with the equipment, and sessile drop software is used to calculate the water contact angle.

In the Results/Discussion, the reported WCA is interpreted as a wettability/hydrophobicity descriptor for the optimized film and is discussed using a stated hydrophilic/hydrophobic threshold and literature comparisons.

Method Snapshot

Method Snapshot Table

Sample / system (as reported) Surface measurement output Dropometer workflow elements (as stated) Instruments Conditions Data location
Optimized soyhull cellulosic residue (SCR) film Water contact angle (WCA) = 72.6° Film positioned on mount → water droplet added → droplet image captured via smartphone interfaced with the equipment → sessile drop software calculates WCA Dropometer (Droplet Lab, Canada) Water droplet (sessile drop) Fig. 2f; Section 3.5.4

Key Findings

Optimized film wettability quantified by WCA

The optimized SCR film is reported with a water contact angle of 72.6°, presented as the film’s “hydrophobicity” metric in the abstract and as the WCA result in the wettability section.

Paper-stated hydrophilic/hydrophobic interpretation

The authors state that WCA 90° indicates hydrophobic behavior, using this criterion to interpret the film’s surface.

Figure-based presentation of the contact-angle result

The WCA is visually presented as a sessile droplet image with tangent construction in Fig. 2f, where the film is described as hydrophilic with a low water contact angle.

Comparator reference discussed in the WCA section

The discussion cites a low-density polyethylene film WCA of 98.6° as a hydrophobic reference point in contrast to the optimized SCR film’s WCA.

Thresholds / Regimes

The authors interpret wettability using a stated contact-angle threshold that separates hydrophilic and hydrophobic behavior.
Threshold rule stated in the paper Value Units Interpretation
Hydrophilic criterion 90 ° Hydrophobic

Figures & Visuals

What it shows

What it shows

This figure compiles the optimized film’s characterization outputs and includes the water contact angle panel (2f) alongside optical, water-uptake, and biodegradation visuals.

What it shows

What it shows

This panel shows the sessile droplet on the film surface with tangent construction and labels the reported WCA = 72.6°.

Why It Matters

In the context of developing soyhull cellulosic residue-based biodegradable films for post-harvest raspberry packaging, the paper uses water contact angle as a direct, quantitative descriptor of the optimized film’s surface wettability/hydrophobicity.

The Dropometer-based WCA result is integrated into the study’s broader characterization set (mechanical, barrier, optical, and shelf-life outcomes) to describe the optimized film’s surface interaction with water.

Practical Takeaways

Sessile-drop WCA workflow

The paper’s Dropometer workflow is described as mounting the film, placing a water droplet, capturing a smartphone image, and calculating WCA using sessile drop software.

Reported wettability value

The optimized SCR film is reported with a water contact angle of 72.6°.

Interpretation threshold used

The authors use a 90° cutoff to classify surfaces as hydrophilic (below 90°) or hydrophobic (above 90°).

Figure-ready WCA visual

The contact-angle result is presented as a droplet image with tangent construction in Fig. 2f, aligned with the numeric WCA value.

Contextual comparison provided

The discussion references a low-density polyethylene film WCA value (98.6°) as a hydrophobic comparator when discussing the optimized SCR film’s WCA.