Formaldehyde-Free Chemical and Enzymatic Crosslinking of Plant Proteins

Abstract

This paper discusses various methods of formaldehyde-free crosslinking of plant proteins and the chemistry of the crosslinking reaction based on recent developments. Currently, there are increasing demands for replacing petroleum-derived raw materials with renewable biodegradable materials. The abundant availability of zein, soy protein, wheat gluten and gliadin from industrial byproducts at low prices leads to the increase of use of renewable plant proteins to produce zein, soy protein, wheat gluten and gliadin fibers. However, poor mechanical properties and weak water stability of these protein fibers are not suitable to meet the needs of industry application. It is necessary to strengthen these renewable protein fibers. This paper reviews various methods related to formaldehyde-free crosslinking of plant proteins. A critical analysis is given on the kinetic study of glutaraldehyde crosslinking of proteins. In this paper, we also discuss a green catalyst for citric acid crosslinking of protein fibers at mild temperatures, the quantitative relationship between the reaction parameters and mechanical properties of crosslinked gliadin fibers, and changes in the molecular weight of the proteins.

Citation

Li, Y. and Yang, Y. (2011), "Formaldehyde-Free Chemical and Enzymatic Crosslinking of Plant Proteins", Research Journal of Textile and Apparel, Vol. 15 No. 4, pp. 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1108/RJTA-15-04-2011-B001