Effect of Temperature on 3D Printing Performance of Plant Protein-based Ink.

In order to develop novel food 3D printing material, the effects of different temperatures (25, 30, 35, 40 °C) on the rheological properties, 3D printing performance and structural properties of the composite plant protein-based ink were investigated with the soybean protein-isolated, gluten and rice protein (SPI-WG-RP) composite paste as the research object. The results showed that SPI-WG-RP inks exhibited shear thinning (R2 ≥0.98) at all temperatures, which was feasible for 3D printing. The increase of printing temperature reduced the yield stress and viscosity of SPI-WG-RP compound plant protein-based ink. When the temperature reached 40 °C, the extrusion recovery property of protein-based ink material was the best (>62.79%). SPI-WG-RP ink had excellent self-supporting behavior. In addition, the increase in printing temperature promoted the tight connection between the three proteins, and the sample microstructure was more dense and uniform at 40 °C, which improved the 3D printing performance to a certain extent. This study provides a theoretical basis for the preparation of plant protein-based ink with good printing performance, which is conducive to expanding the application of 3D printing technology in the field of plant protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]