Effects of Processing on Protein Structure, Physicochemical Properties, and Function
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Engineering and Technology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 3 April 2026 | Viewed by 32
Special Issue Editors
Interests: protein processing; functional protein ingredients; innovative applications of proteins
Interests: novel approaches for food engineering; hydrocolloids; emulsions; protein processing; sonoprocessing; food packaging
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The need for protein is increasing due to the rapid growth of the global population, particularly those extracted from plant origin. Protein composition, extraction, purification, drying, and modification technologies affect aggregation, flexibility, molecular interactions, hydrophobic and charged surface groups, and functional properties of protein. For example, protein aggregation and unfolding occur to various extents depending on processing parameters (pH, temperature, and ionic strength) affecting final properties of protein-based foodstuffs. The protein structures affect its functional characteristics, including emulsifying, apparent viscosity, solubility, foaming, immunoreactivity, and gelling characteristics. These functional characteristics of proteins are factors of paramount importance in the food industry. It is expedient to develop a strategy to effectively utilize protein. Additionally, investigating how protein properties are affected by different composition and processing factors is crucial for food scientists to develop new products, optimize production processes, and ensure food nutrition and safety.
The aim of this Special Issue of Foods is to gather and display cutting-edge research on extraction, modification, and application technologies of proteins, including plants, animals, and microorganisms. This Special Issue welcomes original research articles and reviews on studying the processing technologies in tailoring protein structure, physicochemical properties, and function. Here, the processing technologies include ultrasound, pulsed electric field, hydrodynamic cavitation extraction, plasma treatment, tribo-electrostatic separation, extrusion, protein complexes with polysaccharides/polyphenols, and other novel technologies.
The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:
- Protein source, composition, and their relationship to its structure and functional propert.
- Physical and other novel processing technology in tailoring protein.
- Effects of processing on digestibility, allergenicity, and antinutritional factors of proteins.
- Application of protein in meat, bakery products, dairy products, delivery systems, etc.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Lifen Zhang
Prof. Dr. Wenjun Wang
Guest Editors
Dr. Dingyang Lv
Guest Editor Assistant
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- protein
- peptide
- protein processing
- protein structure
- physicochemical properties
- functional properties
- conformation
- aggregation and disaggregation
- allergenicity
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