Denaturation of proteins from a non-food perspective

Controlled denaturation, or the prevention of denaturation, is an important aspect in the development of food applications of proteins. For the use of proteins in non-food applications such as surfactants, adhesives, coatings or plastics, it is discussed that a certain degree of denaturation must occur in order to make proteins processable, and to reach the required product properties such as strength, water resistance or adhesion. By adjusting the processing parameters (temperature, water content, chemicals) conditions can be created to allow structural changes in the protein. The effect of processing on some product properties will be discussed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.