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Title: CHARACTERIZATION OF ZEIN MODIFIED WITH A MILD CROSS-LINKING AGENT

Author
item Kim, Sanghoon
item Sessa, David
item Lawton Jr, John

Submitted to: Annual Meeting of the Bio Environmentally Degradable Polymer Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/13/2003
Publication Date: 11/15/2003
Citation: Kim, S., Sessa, D.J., Lawton Jr, J.W. 2003. CHARACTERIZATION OF ZEIN MODIFIED WITH A MILD CROSS-LINKING AGENT. Annual Meeting of the Bio Environmentally Degradable Polymer Society. xx.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Zein, a predominant corn protein, is an alcohol-soluble protein extracted from corn and is an excellent film former. The characteristic brittleness of zein diminishes its usefulness as a film. It is well known that zein has a propensity for forming aggregates in solution. When zein molecules were cross-linked with EDC (1-[3-dimethylaminopropyl]-3-ethyl-carbodiimide hydrochloride) and NHS (N-hydroxysuccinimide), it was found that the film-forming property was improved and the aggregation phenomenon in solution was supressed. At the air/water interface, native zein forms brittle film with rough surface while cross-linked zein forms rigid film with very smooth and even surface. Tensile strength of the films were shown to be greatly increased by cross-linking. Through viscosity and dynamic light scattering, the cross-linking reaction was monitored. Optimum amount of EDC & NHS was determined to be 30mg each per gram of zein. The cross-linking of zein with EDC & NHS seemed to be self-terminating since the cross-linking reaction did not proceed to precipitation.