DOE-based multi-criteria optimization of starch/gly/CMC films’ composition and preparation procedure by casting deposition

Bioplastic materials represent a hot topic in the recent literature, with a particular focus on starch-based materials; despite the huge composite films proposed, bioplastics' weak points are still limiting their large-scale applications. In this work, we propose a DOE-based multi-criteria optimization of starch/gly/CMC films targeted to improve both film composition and lab-scale preparation. Film composition, starch source and CMC type are studied by mixture-process combined design to model and improve films' tensile properties and solubility in water while the Plackett-Burman design is applied to screen between several casting procedure variants in search for an easy, reliable and reproducible lab-scale methodology. The chemometric approach allows us to identify the optimal composition to achieve both film flexibility and low solubility and to identify a successful and reproducible lab-scale preparation method.