Formation of Wheat-Protein-Based Biomaterials through Polymer Grafting and Crosslinking Reactions to Introduce New Functional Properties

An insoluble wheat proteins-based polymer networks with new functional groups and positive charges were prepared through grafting-coupling reactions. The networks were also flexible with a lower glass transition temperature since the existence of the grafted mobile segments. The multi-component/multi-phase systems became relatively homogeneous on a scale of 20-30 nm due to strong intermolecular interactions and chemical cross-linking in the materials. This demonstrates that the grafting-coupling reaction is an effective methodology to develop biomaterials with modified functional and mechanical properties from proteins.