Plasticizing agents commonly used for thermoplastic starch production include water and glycerol (Alves et al., 2007, Famá et al., 2006,

Famá et al., 2007, Jangehud and Chinnan, 1999, Mali et al., 2006 and Parra et al., 2004), polyethylene glycol (Parra et al., 2004) and other polyols, such as sorbitol, mannitol and sugars (Kechichian et al., 2010, Talja et al., 2008 and Veiga-Santos et al., 2008). Some authors consider that the glycerol, a polyalcohol found naturally in a combined form as glycerides in animal and vegetable this website fats and oils, is the best plasticizer for water soluble polymers (Bertuzzi et al., 2007, Jangehud and Chinnan, 1999 and Müller et al., 2008). The hydroxyl groups present in glycerol are responsible for inter and intramolecular find more interactions (hydrogen bonds) in polymeric chains, providing films with a more flexible structure and adjusting them to the packaging production process (Souza et al., 2010). Sucrose, which is a non-toxic, edible and low cost biodegradable raw material, has shown a higher plasticizing efficiency when compared

to sorbitol and glycerol. However, evidence of sucrose crystallization during storage was reported. Some authors have demonstrated the possibility of substituting sucrose by inverted sugar that has a lower tendency to crystallize, increasing film-forming suspension viscosity, making it more difficult for crystals to form (Veiga-Santos et al., 2008). In this way, the association of cassava starch with plasticizers as glycerol, sucrose, and inverted sugar can promote alterations in the films, justifying the study of these additives

to develop a potential and ecological alternative to the synthetic packaging of several food products (Parra et al., 2004). To overcome high permeability caused by the plasticizer, other additives are used. In this area, the production of bionanocomposites has proven to be a promising option, since polymer composites are increasingly gaining importance as substitute check details materials due to their superior tensile properties, making them especially suited for transportation and packaging applications. Mineral clays are technologically important and are mainly composed of hydrated aluminosilicate with neutral or negative charged layers (Wilhelm et al., 2003). Clay is a potential filler; itself a naturally abundant mineral that is toxin-free and can be used as one of the components for food, medical, cosmetic and healthcare products (Chen & Evans, 2005). Moreover, clay is environmentally friendly and inexpensive. Clay/starch composites have been the most frequently studied, demonstrating a potential for improvement of tensile strength, Young’s modulus, water resistance and decrease of the water vapor permeability of starches from many different sources (Avella et al., 2005, Chiou et al., 2007, Cyras et al., 2008, Kampeerapappun et al., 2007, McGlashan and Halley, 2003 and Tang et al., 2008).