Bier, James MichaelVerbeek, Casparus Johan R.Lay, Mark C.2013-09-292013-09-292013-08-082013Bier, J. M., Verbeek, C. J. R., & Lay, M. C. (2013). Thermally resolved synchrotron FT-IR microscopy of structural changes in bloodmeal-based thermoplastics. Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, published online on 08 August 2013.https://hdl.handle.net/10289/8034Synchrotron FT-IR micro-spectroscopy was used to determine thermally induced structural changes in thermoplastic protein produced from bloodmeal after mixing with sodium sulphite, sodium dodecyl sulphate, urea, tri-ethylene glycol and water. Changes in protein secondary structure at elevated temperature were assessed using second derivative peak height ratios in the amide III region (1,200–1,330 cm⁻¹) and compared with DSC and DMA results over the same temperature range. The results show an increase in ordered β-sheet structures with temperature at the expense of random coils, and that these β-sheets do not melt in the temperature range up to extrusion temperature of 120 °C. The implication of this is that during melt processing, β-sheet clusters may remain intact, similar to dispersed particulate fillers.ensecondary structure estimationinfrared-spectroscopythermoplastic proteinsynchrotron radiationdifferential scanning calorimetrydynamic mechanical analysisJournal Article10.1007/s10973-013-3340-8