ArticleNature communications2023
Transforming sustainable plant proteins into high performance lubricating microgels.
Article in Nature communications, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 66 citations in OpenAlex.
- Data-driven pipeline enables discovery of plant protein surfactants.Communications chemistry · 2026Article
- Heat-Induced Gelation of Legume Protein-Starch Systems: Mechanisms, Structure-Function Relationships and Food Application.Gels (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Carbohydrate-Protein Hydrogels as Fat Replacers: Design Criteria and Benchmarking Against Full-Fat Systems.Comprehensive reviews in food science and food safety · 2026Review
- Food-Grade Microgels for Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Design, Fabrication, and Targeted Delivery.Gels (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Lubrication by plant-based emulsions: Linking oil-water protein-stabilized interfacial mechanical properties to oil droplet lubrication properties.Current research in food science · 2026Article
- Investigating the Interfacial Structure of Potato Protein Microgels at the Air-Water Interface.Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids · 2025Article
- Investigating the influence of astringent compounds on oral lubrication and the protective role of proline-rich proteins.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Unveiling plant protein astringency perception through neural and cellular responses.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Perspectives in the Scientific Literature on the Barriers and Benefits of the Transition to a Plant-Based Diet: A Bibliometric Analysis.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Bulk and Interfacial Behavior of Potato Protein-Based Microgels.Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids · 2024Article
- Screening of a Microbial Culture Collection: Empowering Selection of Starters for Enhanced Sensory Attributes of Pea-Protein-Based Beverages.Journal of agricultural and food chemistry · 2024Article
- Self-assembly of sustainable plant protein protofilaments into a hydrogel for ultra-low friction across length scales.Communications materials · 2024Article
- Benchmarking of a microgel-reinforced hydrogel-based aqueous lubricant against commercial saliva substitutes.Scientific reports · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
With the resource-intensive meat industry accounting for over 50% of food-linked emissions, plant protein consumption is an inevitable need of the hour. Despite its significance, the key barrier to adoption of plant proteins is their astringent off-sensation, typically associated with high friction and consequently poor lubrication performance. Herein, we demonstrate that by transforming plant proteins into physically cross-linked microgels, it is possible to improve their lubricity remarkably, dependent on their volume fractions, as evidenced by combining tribology using biomimetic tongue-like surface with atomic force microscopy, dynamic light scattering, rheology and adsorption measurements. Experimental findings which are fully supported by numerical modelling reveal that these non-lipidic microgels not only decrease boundary friction by an order of magnitude as compared to native protein but also replicate the lubrication performance of a 20:80 oil/water emulsion. These plant protein microgels offer a much-needed platform to design the next-generation of healthy, palatable and sustainable foods.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.