Department of Food Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901, USA.
J Agric Food Chem. 2011 Jan 12;59(1):56-61. doi: 10.1021/jf103164r. Epub 2010 Dec 2.
Zein protein is a major coproduct of biofuel from corn. To reduce the brittleness of zein films, a new type of zein-based biomaterial, was synthesized by chemical modification of zein with lauryl chloride through an acylation reaction. The final products were confirmed by (1)H NMR, FT-IR analysis, and SDS-PAGE. Thermal analysis detected no microphase separation in the synthesized polymer matrix. As the content of lauryl moiety increased, the glass transition temperatures of modified zein decreased by as large as 25.8 °C due to the plasticization effect of the lauryl moiety. In addition, mechanical and surface properties of cast films from acylated zein were also investigated. The elongation at break of modified zein sheet was increased by about 7-fold at the high modification level with some loss of mechanical strength. The surfaces of modified zein films were as uniform as unmodified zein film but more hydrophobic, further suggesting that no microphase separation happened during the film formation process. This work indicated the potential of these new biomaterials in the development of biodegradable food packaging materials and delivery systems.
玉米醇溶蛋白是生物燃料的主要副产物。为了降低玉米醇溶蛋白薄膜的脆性，通过酰化反应用月桂酰氯对玉米醇溶蛋白进行化学修饰，合成了一种新型的基于玉米醇溶蛋白的生物材料。最终产物通过（1）H NMR、FT-IR 分析和 SDS-PAGE 进行了确认。热分析检测到合成聚合物基质中没有微相分离。随着月桂基部分含量的增加，由于月桂基部分的增塑作用，改性玉米醇溶蛋白的玻璃化转变温度降低了多达 25.8°C。此外，还研究了酰化玉米醇溶蛋白浇铸膜的力学和表面性能。在高修饰水平下，改性玉米醇溶蛋白片的断裂伸长率增加了约 7 倍，同时机械强度略有下降。改性玉米醇溶蛋白膜的表面与未改性玉米醇溶蛋白膜一样均匀，但更疏水，进一步表明在成膜过程中没有发生微相分离。这项工作表明了这些新型生物材料在开发可生物降解的食品包装材料和输送系统方面的潜力。
