Recent Advances, Challenges, and Functional Applications of Protein Chemical Modification in the Food Industry

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Biochemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Proteins are vital in food processing, influencing texture and stability through their physicochemical properties.
• Protein functionality (emulsification, foaming, gelation, hydration) is determined by molecular structure.
• Protein modification techniques are used to enhance and diversify biological functions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review chemical modification methods for improving protein functionality.
• To explore the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in protein modification research.
• To highlight the expanded applications of modified proteins in food, medicine, and biomaterials.

Main Methods:

• Review of chemical modification strategies for proteins.
• Integration of AI techniques (deep learning, image recognition, NLP) for predicting modification sites.
• Analysis of AI's role in rational protein design and engineering.

Main Results:

• Chemical modifications improve protein solubility, emulsification, gelation, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, and nutritional value.
• AI technologies offer innovative tools for intelligent prediction of protein modification sites.
• Modified proteins show enhanced performance in food systems.

Conclusions:

• Protein chemical modifications are key to improving food product quality and expanding protein applications.
• AI is revolutionizing protein engineering by enabling targeted functional design.
• Modified proteins hold significant promise for advancements in food, medicine, and biomaterials.