Encapsulation of a Volatile Biomolecule (Hexanal) in Cyclodextrin Metal–Organic Frameworks for Slow Release and Its Effect on Preservation of Mangoes

The post-harvest losses in fruits and vegetables are huge across the world, and they are recognized as a global challenge to overcome. Hexanal is a gaseous biomolecule known to extend the shelf life of fruits and reduce post-harvest losses in perishables. In order to regulate the vaporization of hexanal, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) were exploited, which served as an effective template to entrap the gaseous molecules. It is hypothesized that MOFs possess an extensive surface area that captures and retains hexanal for an extended time that enables the preservation of stored fruits. In this study, the MOFs were synthesized using vapor diffusion methods and characterized for their size, shape, structure, and functional groups. The same set of measurements was done before and after loading hexanal. The hexanal loading was confirmed, and the entrapment efficiency was estimated as 56%. After loading, the material was briquette into pellets using a pelletizer and the release pattern was studied over a while. The hexanal vapor release was extended up to 10 h, while pure hexanal gets completely vaporized within 2 h. Each pellet loaded with hexanal was affixed in fruit storage boxes. The results showed that mango fruits exposed to MOFs loaded with hexanal had extended shelf life up to 15 days, while control fruits got spoiled within 10 days. Our data suggest that the post-harvest losses can be reduced and the mango fruits can be preserved for 2 weeks by exposing them to pellets loaded with hexanal.