Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1304 West Pennsylvania Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
Langmuir. 2010 Aug 3;26(15):12897-901. doi: 10.1021/la101688v.
Zein, a major protein of corn, is soluble in binary mixtures of ethanol and water. It has an amphiphilic character and is capable of self-assembly into nano- and microsized rods, spheres, and films upon solvent evaporation. The formation of microspheres is of particular interest for the development of delivery systems. Control over structure formation requires a better understanding of zein behavior in solution. The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of zein concentration and the effect of ethanol-water ratio on the microphase behavior of zein solutions, believed to govern the morphology of microstructures after solvent evaporation. The Flory-Huggins solution theory was applied to model boundary lines between microphases in solution. The study generated information on the zein concentration-ethanol/water ratio conditions where microspheres are formed and provided insight into the microphase behavior of zein ethanolic solutions.
玉米醇溶蛋白是玉米中的主要蛋白质，可溶于乙醇-水的二元混合物中。它具有双亲性质，能够在溶剂蒸发时自组装成纳米级和微米级的棒状、球状和薄膜状结构。微球的形成对于开发输送系统具有特别的意义。控制结构的形成需要更好地了解溶液中醇溶蛋白的行为。本工作的目的是研究醇溶蛋白浓度和乙醇-水比例对醇溶蛋白溶液微相行为的影响，因为这被认为是控制溶剂蒸发后微观结构形态的因素。Flory-Huggins 溶液理论被应用于模拟溶液中微相之间的边界线。该研究提供了有关形成微球的醇溶蛋白浓度-乙醇/水比例条件的信息，并深入了解了醇溶蛋白乙醇溶液的微相行为。
