Protein-based bionanocomposites

Abstract Proteins are attractive candidate materials for high-performance bionanocomposites due to their abundant availability, renewability, biodegradability, biocompatibility, flexibility, and the existence of various reactive sites for incorporation of novel functionalities. Complementary to these characteristics, the synergistic blending of natural and synthetic constituents can significantly improve the structural performance of these protein-based nanocomposites. In this chapter, we discuss the current progress of protein-derived bionanocomposites, various nanomaterials (e.g., CNT, grapheme oxide, TiO2, SiO2, ZnO, Ag, Au, nanocellulose, collagen nanofibers, etc.), and novel properties of bionanocomposites such as excellent mechanical strength, biodegradability, load-bearing capacity, nontoxicity, osteoconductivity, osteoinductivity, thermal stability, transparency, vapor permeability, light barrier, antifungal, antibacterial activities, and surface adhesion properties. We also present an outlook on emerging applications of protein-based bionanocomposites in tissue engineering, wound healing, food packaging, biosensor, wastewater treatment, isolation of plasmid DNA, and antimicrobial textiles.