Protein-based surfactants application

IV. PROTEIN-BASED SURFACTANT APPLICATIONS IN THE DETERGENT AND RELATED INDUSTRIES... 

Protein-Based Surfactants Synthesis, Physicochemical Properties, and Applications, edited by Ifendu A. Nnanna and JidingXia... 

In recent years, protein-based surfactants are finding some applications in personal care products due to their abilities to interact with skin and hair." A-acyl polypeptide condensates (protein derivatives) belong to the mild surfactant category with foaming performance inferior to alkyl sulfates, but they produce creamy lather and leave hair feeling soft and manageable. However, it appears that extra attention and care should be taken to ensure preservation of these protein derivatives due to compatibility with other anionic surfactants when present in shampoo formulations. 

Nnanna lA, GY Cheng, and J Xia, Potential applications of protein-based surfactants. In Protein-Based Surfactants, Surfactant Science Series, Vol. 101 (Eds. Nnanna lA and Xia J), Marcel Dekker, New York, 2001, pp. 227-260. 

V. PROTEIN-BASED SURFACTANT PROSPECTS IN FOOD APPLICATIONS... 

VI. POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS OF PROTEIN-BASED SURFACTANTS IN AGRICULTURAL SECTORS... 

Xia, J. and Nnanna, I. A. (2001) An overview of the basis, technology, and surface phenomena of protein-based surfactants, in Protein-Based Surfactants. Synthesis, Physicochemical Properties, and Applications (eds I. A. Nnanna and J. Xia), Marcel Dekker, New York, pp. 1-14. 

Protein is an excellent natural nanomaterial for molecular machines. Protein-based molecular machines, often driven by an energy source such as ATP, are abundant in biology. Surfactant peptide molecules undergo self-assembly in solution to form a variety of supermolecular structures at the nanoscale such as micelles, vesicles, unilamellar membranes, and tubules (Maslov and Sneppen, 2002). These assemblies can be engineered to perform a broad spectrum of functions, including delivery systems for therapeutics and templates for nanoscale wires in the case of tubules, and to create and manipulate different structures from the same peptide for many different nanomaterials and nanoengineering applications. 

Surfactants at Interfaces. Somewhat surprisingly, the successes described above in the in-situ studies of protein adsorption have not inspired extensive applications to the study of the adsorption of surfactants. The common materials used in the fabrication of IREs, thalliumbromoiodide, zinc selenide, germanium and silicon do, in fact, offer quite a range in adsorption substrate properties, and the potential of employing a thin layer of a substance as a modifier of the IRE surface which is presented to a surfactant solution has also been examined in the studies of proteins. Based on the appearance of the studies described below, and recent concerns about the kinetics of formation of self-assembled layers, (108) it seems likely that in-situ ATR studies of small molecules at solid - liquid interfaces ("wet" solids), will continue to expand in scope. 

Over the last two decades, there has been an increasing interest in the industrial use of plant proteins for non-food applications because of their renewabiUty or biodegradability Plant proteins ve thus been used for the fabrication of materials such as films and coatings, adhesives, thermoplastics and surfactants. However, for many applications, it is necessary to confer and/or to improve some specific properties by chemical modification of the native proteins. Particularly, the esterification of their carboxyl and amide groups by a fatty alcohol (Fig 1) could lead to a protein-derivative with improved functional properties. Such modification would result into a lower water sensitivity of the protein-based products and it would therefore offer... 

---