Thermal analysis and secondary structure of protein fractions in a highly aggregated protein material

Thermal analysis can generally be applied to protein-based thermoplastics although standard protein analysis techniques are not always possible to assess chain architecture. Blood (17% protein) from the meat industry can be fractionated or dried to blood meal, which can be converted to a thermoplastic called Novatein. The objective of this paper was to use a consistent methodology to compare different protein fractions from blood to that of blood meal, as well as the plastic produced from it, and how these changes relate to processing. Thermal properties were similar between protein fractions, but there were differences in chain conformation between blood meal, the haem containing fractions (red blood cells and spray dried haemoglobin) and the non-haem fractions (plasma and serum albumin). Blood meal is therefore best considered a single polymer, rather than the sum of its individual fractions. Thermoplastic processing reduces protein aggregation, and this phenomenon is more important than the behaviour of any of the individual proteins.