Zein, the predominant protein in corn, may be used as an alternative to various commercial plastics. Plastics produced from zein tend to be brittle, so plasticizers such as triethylene glycol (TEG) and water were used in this study to alleviate brittleness. When zein is blended with water and subjected to heat and shear in a torque rheometer, zein readily generates aggregates that produce a rap...

The protein bodies in maize endosperm are the sites of zein deposition. They are single membrane-bound vesicles with polysomes associated with the exterior surface of the membrane. These protein bodies were isolated by sucrose density gradients and characterized by electron microscopy and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Polyribosomes dissociated from the surface of the membrane by detergent...

An opaque mutation was identified that reduces gamma-zein synthesis in maize endosperm. The mutation, opaque-15, causes a 2- to 3-fold reduction in gamma-zein mRNA and protein synthesis and reduces the proportion of the 27-kDa gamma-zein A gene transcript. Although the protein bodies in opaque-15 are similar in size and morphology compared to wild type, there are fewer of them in developing end...

The interaction of 16 ring-substituted phenols and anilines with the corn protein zein was studied by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography by preparing silica- and alumina-based stationary phases coated with various concentrations of zein. The relationship between the strength of interaction and the physicochemical parameters of solutes was elucidated by principal component ana...

Zein is one of the seed storage proteins found in endosperm maize. It soluble aqueous ethanol solutions with high content, and forms aggregates when content solution lowered. This unique structural variation has long been utilized to prepare nanoparticles that carry hydrophobic drugs. In this research, optimal conditions for encapsulation menthol, major component peppermint oil, into zein nanoc...