Potato protein isolate‐based biopolymers

ABSTRACT Thermal processing of two potato protein isolates (PPIs) with glycerol as a plasticizer was explored in this study. The PPIs were pretreated by alkali or alkali under reducing conditions. The PPIs before and after pretreatment were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, differential scanning calorimetry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The effects of plasticizer content and pretreatment on mechanical and thermo‐mechanical properties of the compression‐molded biopolymers were studied. The highest tensile strengths obtained were 20–25 MPa and the biopolymer can be brittle or ductile depending on the plasticizer contents. The molecular weight and protein structure of the PPIs markedly affected the resultant biopolymers’ static and dynamic mechanical properties. The pretreatment of PPIs caused distinctly different changes in the mechanical properties of the two PPIs. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132 , 42723.