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Updated: Aug 2, 2026

Synthesis of an Intein-mediated Artificial Protein Hydrogel
Published on: January 27, 2014
Molecular weight of an extremely hydrophobic protein, zein, in dimethylformamide and in formamide
Abstract:
Both alpha zein purified from a commericial preparation and beta zein prepared fresh from corn are soluble in the nonaqueous solvents formamide and dimethylformamide; in this regard zein resembles water soluble proteins such as insulin, ribonuclease, and lysozyme. On the basis of osmotic pressure measurements made in both formamide and dimethylformamide, alpha zein has a number average moleular weight of 21000-24000 daltons and shows no tendency to aggregate or dissociate. Beta zein exists in an aggregated state (dimer and higher forms) in dimethylformamide. Formamide dissociates the beta zein dimer into monomer units but aggregation to higher species occurs with increasing protein concentration.
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