Abstract:Objective: This study aimed to develop a chitosan/zein-anthocyanin nanoparticle composite film loaded with zein-anthocyanin nanoparticles (volume fraction 5% and 10%) as enhancers and functional agents. The effects of zein-anthocyanin nanoparticles on the physicochemical and structural properties of films were investigated. Results: Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that the nanoparticles, which were spherical in shape and had a particle size of about 193-487 nm, had good compatibility with the film matrix and filled the void spaces in the film matrix, significantly improving the mechanical properties, making the elongation at break from 14.55% to 42.86%, tensile strength increased from 13.26 MPa to 36.86 MPa. In addition, the antioxidant properties of the films were also significantly improved, with the radical scavenging activities of DPPH and ABTS increased from 31.82% and 31.07% to 84.05% and 79.17%, respectively. Conclusion: Zein-anthocyanin nanoparticles can not only improve the mechanical properties of chitosan films, but also improve the antioxidant properties of the films by loading zein-anthocyanins nanoparticles.