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1998
Book Article
Titel
Plastification Properties of Plant Storage Proteins with Respect to the Degree of Modification by Acylation Techniques
Abstract
Plant proteins are currently used in food and feed markets; nonfood utilizations are very rare. Nevertheless, proteins are interesting raw materials for industrial nonfood applications because their property profile includes film-forming, amphiphilic behavior and amphipolaric character. Additionally, protein properties can be easily modified and adjusted by chemical and biochemical modification techniques. The unique properties of plant proteins produced agriculturally in high quantities every year encourage scientists to look for new industrial applications. At present, several applications are under investigation, such as paper binders and cobinders, paper coatings, and emulsifiers. Utilization as bioplastics is one of the most promising applications for proteins. To fulfill the requirements for this application, thermoplastic or thermoelastic behavior is necessary, because extrusion and injection molding techniques are common in industry. It has been shown that additives such as alcohol or water can be used to lower the melting temperature of native proteins. As a result, the protein are plasticized above 65 deg C. The next step of investigation is to evaluate plasticizing behavior with respect to the physicochemical properties of the protein, especially the influence of chemical modification on plastification.