Transforming sustainable plant proteins into high performance lubricating microgels

Ben Kew, Melvin Holmes (), Evangelos Liamas, Rammile Ettelaie, Simon D. Connell (), Daniele Dini and Anwesha Sarkar ()
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Ben Kew: University of Leeds
Melvin Holmes: University of Leeds
Evangelos Liamas: University of Leeds
Rammile Ettelaie: University of Leeds
Simon D. Connell: University of Leeds
Daniele Dini: Imperial College London
Anwesha Sarkar: University of Leeds

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract With the resource-intensive meat industry accounting for over 50% of food-linked emissions, plant protein consumption is an inevitable need of the hour. Despite its significance, the key barrier to adoption of plant proteins is their astringent off-sensation, typically associated with high friction and consequently poor lubrication performance. Herein, we demonstrate that by transforming plant proteins into physically cross-linked microgels, it is possible to improve their lubricity remarkably, dependent on their volume fractions, as evidenced by combining tribology using biomimetic tongue-like surface with atomic force microscopy, dynamic light scattering, rheology and adsorption measurements. Experimental findings which are fully supported by numerical modelling reveal that these non-lipidic microgels not only decrease boundary friction by an order of magnitude as compared to native protein but also replicate the lubrication performance of a 20:80 oil/water emulsion. These plant protein microgels offer a much-needed platform to design the next-generation of healthy, palatable and sustainable foods.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40414-7

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