Hemp protein is being explored as a functional ingredient in advanced food and material systems, but its performance depends heavily on how it interacts with other molecules.
In this study, researchers examined how formic acid interacts with hemp protein and how those interactions influence the protein’s structure, solubility and ability to stabilize Pickering emulsions.
The findings help explain how hemp protein can be modified to improve emulsion stability, supporting its potential use in food, pharmaceutical and other formulation technologies.
“Anti-solvent precipitation using formic acid (FA, 0-98%, v/v) was developed to fabricate hemp protein nanoparticles (HPNs) for Pickering emulsion stabilization.
FA ≥10% (v/v) increased hemp protein solubility from 38.0% to 86.9% by solubilizing storage globulins, yielding HPNs with tunable sizes (100-780 nm), high ζ-potentials (>30 mV), and adjustable contact angles (57.7°-126.6°).
HPNs prepared at 40% FA exhibited optimal interfacial properties, including the lowest interfacial tension and highest emulsifying activity index (∼1800 m2/g), forming Pickering emulsions with 3-week stability and solid-like rheology.
Spectroscopic analysis revealed concentration-dependent conformational changes: invariant Raman spectra confirmed intact primary bonds, while fluorescence and UV-vis indicated initial unfolding (10-40%) followed by refolding (50-98%), and FT-IR showed that β-sheet content peaked at 61% (40% FA), which correlated with optimal interfacial performance.
Molecular dynamics simulations elucidated a dynamic “besieging effect” where numerous FA molecules collectively disrupted edestin’s hydrogen-bond network via weak interactions (binding energy -3.1 kcal/mol), inducing transient conformational expansion.
This work demonstrates the feasibility of FA as a solvent system for hemp protein nanoparticle fabrication and provides mechanistic insights into unconventional protein-solvent interactions, offering a foundation for future food-grade applications.”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42637338
“Tunable hemp protein nanoparticles with adjustable wettability are fabricated for Pickering emulsion stabilization.”
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S096399692601865X?via%3Dihub