Other Protein-Based Bionanocomposites

Other proteins such as zein, gluten, and silk fibroin have also been used to produce bionanocomposites. Film-forming proteins, such as casein, whey protein, keratin, and fish myofibrillar protein, can also be used to prepare bionanocomposites 

Olabarrieta et al. [237] studied wheat gluten-based bionanocomposites containing up to 4.5 wt% natural montmoriUonite or those surface-modified with quaternary ammonium salt These bionanocomposites a good barrier to water vapor as compared to the pristine polymer. 

Bionanocomposites Using Biodegradable Polymers from Microorganisms and Biotechnology 

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X-rays were discovered in 1895 by W.C. Roentgen. When incident on a crystalline material. X-rays interfere with each other. This phenomenon is known as XRD. The WA-XRD is the most cormnonly used method to characterize the stmcture of bionanocomposites because of its ease of use and availability. The WA-XRD has been used to characterize dispersion of layered clays in nanocomposites based on protein (Chen and Zhang 2006 Shabeer et al., 2007 Yu et al., 2007) and starch (Dimonie et al., 2008 Tang et al., 2008). 

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