Carboxylated cellulose nanocrystals-driven heat-induced soy protein isolate amyloid fibril gel: Network structure and...

This study aimed to investigate the effects of different concentrations of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and carboxylated CNC (CCNC) on gel properties and formation mechanisms of soybean isolate protein amyloid fibers (SAF). With the increase in CNC/CCNC concentration, the water-holding capacity and strength of SAF gels were enhanced, the mobility of water molecules decreased, and the apparent viscosity and modulus increased. The optimum gel properties were observed at 0.75 % polysaccharide concentration. The gel network was formed by CCNC and SAF, driven by electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonding. Particle size, simultaneous rheology and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (SR-IR), and spectroscopic indicated that the polysaccharide improved gel properties mainly by inducing SAF particle size reduction, secondary and tertiary structure, degree of crystallinity, and surface hydrophobicity alteration. The SAF thermal start degradation temperature was increased from 228.08 °C to 233.61 °C (CCNC0.75). These findings are expected to expand the application potential of SAF hydrogel functional materials.