Chemical modification of New Zealand hoki (Macruronus novaezelandiae) skin gelatin and its properties

A Novel Food Bore Protein Hydrogel with Silver Ions for Promoting Burn Wound Healing

Hydrogels have emerged as a promising option for treating local scald wounds due to their unique physical and chemical properties. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of ovalbumin/gelatin composite hydrogels in repairing deep II-degree scald wounds using a mouse dorsal skin model. Trauma tissues collected at various time points are analyzed for total protein content, hydroxyproline content, histological features, and expression of relevant markers. The results reveal that the hydrogel accelerates the healing process of scalded wounds, which is 17.27% higher than the control group. The hydrogel treatment also effectively prevents wound enlargement and redness of the edges caused by infection during the initial stage of scalding. The total protein and hydroxyproline content of the treated wounds are significantly elevated. Additionally, the hydrogel up-regulates the expression of VEGF (a crucial angiogenic factor) and down-regulates CD68 (a macrophage marker). In summary, this study provides valuable insights into the potential of multifunctional protein-based hydrogels in wound healing.

Investigation of the Effects of Phenolic Extracts Obtained from Agro-Industrial Food Wastes on Gelatin Modification

In this study, modified bovine gelatin was produced using the alkaline technique with four different oxidized agro-industrial food waste (pomegranate peel (PP), grape pomace and seed (GP), black tea (BT), and green tea (GT)) phenolic extracts (AFWEs) at three different concentrations (1, 3, and 5% based on dry gelatin). The effect of waste type and concentration on the textural, rheological, emulsifying, foaming, swelling, and color properties of gelatin, as well as its total phenolic content and antioxidant activity, was investigated. Significant improvement in gel strength, thermal stability, and gelation rate of gelatin was achieved by modification with oxidized agro-industrial waste extracts. Compared to the control sample, 46.24% higher bloom strength in the GT5 sample, 5.29 and 6.01 °C higher gelling and melting temperatures in the PP5 sample, respectively, and 85.70% lower tmodel value in the GT3 sample were observed. Additionally, the total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, foam, and emulsion properties of the modified gels increased significantly. This study revealed that gelatins with improved technological and functional properties can be produced by using oxidized phenolic extracts obtained from agricultural industrial food wastes as cross-linking agents in the modification of gelatin.

Optimization and characterization of biodegradable films from chicken gelatin crosslinked with oxidized phenolic compounds

Chicken gelatin derived from poultry by-product was combined with caffeic acid (CA), rutin (RUT) and glycerol (GLY) to obtain biodegradable films. Optimum cross-linking conditions were investigated using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The results showed that cross-linking led to lower L* value and higher b*, and the higher opacity values in the films. Water solubility (WS) decreased up to 50% after the incorporation of 1.25% CA compared to the commercial gelatin (cattle and pig based) films. Crosslinking improved the thermal stability and the tensile strength (TS) of films. Optimized cross-linking combination was determined as 0.96-1.56% CA, 0-1.25% RUT, and 29.5-30.5% GLY. Overall, this study demonstrated that crosslinking by CA and RUT can be used to improve the physical and barrier properties of gelatin films having excellent potential for the development of biodegradable films for packaging uses. These films may also result in an improvement and added value in poultry by-products.

Self-assembled nanoparticles of acid-induced fish (Cyprinus carpio L.) scale gelatin: Structure, physicochemical properties, and application for loading curcumin

This work expands the functionality of fish scale gelatin (FSG) as a carrier of hydrophobic bioactive substances. The hydrophobicity of FSG was enhanced to promote its interaction with hydrophobic curcumin and to increase its bioavailability. This results in a remarkable increase in the curcumin loading capacity of acid-hydrolyzed FSG (HFSG) from 1.08 ± 0.08 μg/mg (0 h) to 9.15 ± 0.21 μg/mg (3 h). The amino acid composition indicated that acid hydrolysis effectively increased the ratio of hydrophobic amino acids of FSG. Acid hydrolysis facilitated the transformation of the α-helical conformation into a β-sheet structure. Hydrophobic interactions between HFSG and curcumin were strengthened by moderate acid hydrolysis. A sustained-release profile emerged for the curcumin-loaded HFSG during simulated gastrointestinal digestion, thereby improving the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of curcumin. These findings contribute to the application of acid hydrolysis in modifying FSG for enhanced hydrophobicity and curcumin loading capacity in the food industry.

Insight into the mechanism of the decrease in mechanical strength and water-holding capacity of gels made from oxidized gelatin

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of oxidation on the physicochemical properties of gelatin and gelatin gels. Porcine skin gelatin was oxidized with different concentrations of H2O2 (0-30 mM). Upon oxidation of gelatin, a significant modification of amino acid residues including glycine, proline, hydroxyproline, and hydroxylysine occurred. Zeta-potential, ordered secondary structure and the fraction of triple-helix decreased, while particle size and surface hydrophobicity increased. Gels made from oxidized gelatin showed a looser network structure indicated by scanning electron microscope, and the gels had a weakened mechanical strength and water-holding as compared to non-oxidized gelatin gels. Based on these results, a mechanism of how oxidation affects the gelatin gel properties was proposed: Oxidation-induced increase of hydrophobicity and decrease of net charges promoted aggregation between gelatin molecules, thereby limiting the formation of triple-helix, which subsequently leads to a loose network structure and eventually a weakened gel strength and water-holding capacity.

Curcumin-Loaded Self-Assembly Constructed by Octenylsuccinate Fish (Cyprinus carpio L.) Scale Gelatin: Preparation and Characterization

Curcumin loaded octenylsuccinate fish scale gelatin (OFSG) was prepared in this study, to explore the potential of FSG for delivering hydrophobic nutrients. The effects of molecule weight (M_w, 22,677-369 g/mol) and degree of substitution (DS, 0-0.116) on the curcumin loading efficiency (CLE, μg/mL) of OFSG (6.98-26.85 mg/mL) were evaluated. The expose of interior hydrophobic groups in FSG and increased intermolecular hydrophobic area contributed to the loading of curcumin in two phases, respectively. The interaction between OFSG and curcumin showed a decreased absorption in FTIR and an increased crystallinity in XRD. The loading of curcumin into OFSG caused a significant decrease of the particle size (from 350-12,070 to 139-214 nm), PDI (from 0.584-0.659 to 0.248-0.347) and ζ-potential (-12.2 or -11.4 to -21.0 or -20.3). OFSG showed a significantly higher stability and lower release of curcumin than FSG at the end of the simulated gastrointestinal digestion. Thus, OFSG showed great potential in the construction of a carrier for hydrophobic nutrients.

Strong fish gelatin hydrogels double crosslinked by transglutaminase and carrageenan

Gelatin hydrogels are usually soft and thermally unstable. Here, strong fish gelatin hydrogels were successfully prepared by double crosslinking gelatin with transglutaminase (TGase) and κ-carrageenan, and the mechanical properties and thermal stability of the double crosslinked gelatin hydrogels were significantly improved. Results showed that the gel strength, compression fracture stress and storage modulus of the double crosslinked gelatin hydrogels all reached the largest value when the concentration of TGase was 20 U/g gelatin. The double crosslinked gelatin hydrogels were also thermally stable due to the existence of the covalent crosslinks. The effect of TGase concentration on the physical properties and microstructure of the double crosslinked hydrogels were analyzed, and the differences between double crosslinked gelatin hydrogels and gelatin hydrogels single crosslinked by TGase or carrageenan were also systematically compared. This article is of great significance for expanding the application of natural polymer-based hydrogels.

Comparative study on the gel properties and nanostructures of gelatins from chicken, porcine, and tilapia skin

To clarify the feasibility of replacing commercial gelatin with chicken skin gelatin, we investigated the gel properties and nanostructures of chicken skin gelatin (CG), commercial porcine skin gelatin (PG), and tilapia skin gelatin (FG). Compared with PG and FG, CG exhibited the better gel strength, hardness, chewiness, melting point, gelling temperature, and thermostability. The different physicochemical properties of CG might be caused by its higher imino acid content (25.43 residues/100 total residues), which make it more liable to form intramolecular H-bonds (lower amplitude of amide A wave number). In addition, atomic force microscopy (AFM) result was shown that CG contained larger spherical aggregates (483 nm) than PG and FG (334 and 224 nm, respectively), and the lack of chain and ring-like structure promoted the formation of a dense rigid gel. These results revealed that the intramolecular H-bond and the aggregation behavior are the fundamental explanations for the different gel properties of gelatins from three sources. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: This research provides guidance for the application of chicken skin gelatin as a replacer for commercial gelatin. And the results provide a theoretical basis for the modification of chicken skin gelatin.

Chicken gelatin modification by caffeic acid: A response surface methodology investigation

Chemical modifications of gelatin from mechanically separated chicken meat (MSM) residue were practiced using caffeic acid as a cross-linker. The effects of oxidation period (OP), cross-linking temperature (CT), and caffeic acid (CA) concentration were investigated. Experiments were performed using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The effects of 16 different cross-linking modifications on the physicochemical properties of chicken gelatin gels were investigated. Maximum gel strength was determined at 12.5 min OP, 50 °C CT and 2.5% CA concentration and this was 63% higher than the control (uncross-linked chicken gelatin). Temperature has an increasing effect on the degree of cross-linking value up to a certain degree. The highest degree of cross-linking was observed at between 50° and 55 °C. The color characteristics of gels were affected by cross-linking having more brown color. Overall this study demonstrated that caffeic acid has a potential to be an efficient natural cross-linking factor increasing the mechanical properties of chicken gelatin thermo-irreversibly.

Rheological behavior, emulsifying properties and structural characterization of phosphorylated fish gelatin

Rheological, microstructural and emulsifying properties of fish gelatin phosphorylated using sodium trimetaphosphate (STMP) were studied. Phosphorylation was carried out at 50 °C for 0, 0.5, 1 or 2 h. Rheological behaviors indicated that phosphorylation decreased gelation rate constant (k_gel) and apparent viscosity of gelatin solutions. Phosphorylation time was inversely proportional to tan δ; gelling and melting points of fish gelatin gels; however gel properties could be improved by short time of phosphorylation. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy revealed that longer time of phosphorylation resulted in looser gel network with more aggregation. Longer phosphorylation time could stabilize fish gelatin emulsions, and endowed emulsions with smaller particle size and lower coefficient viscosity, but higher ζ-potential values. These results suggested that phosphorylation could be applied to obtain fish gelatin with varying functional properties suitable for numerous industrial applications.

Comparison of rheological behaviors and nanostructure of bighead carp scales gelatin modified by different modification methods

In this study, microbial transglutaminase (MTGase) and pectin were compared to modify bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) scale gelatin. The functional properties of modified fish scales gelatin (FSG) were largely improved, including melting temperature and rheological behavior. While, modification methods decreased the triple-helix content and destroyed the single left-hand helix chain of modified FSG as investigated by X-ray diffraction. MTGase could induce the denser and finer gels network, but had none significant effect on nanostructural properties of fish gelatin. Pectin inserted itself into the fish gelatin gels network and caused aggregations, forming crystalline peaks and various nanostructures. In particular, compared with pectin modified FSG, MTGase produced FSG with lower storage modulus and apparent viscosity, but higher gel points and melting points.