Research Data Leeds Repository

Data for "Botanical Biomaterials: From Wheat Gluten to Sustainable Hydrogels"

Citation

Hughes, Matt D G, Januszewski, Georgina, Martinez, Anashka Calero, Katrantzi, Dimitra, Boroumand, Ahmad, Mahmoudi, Najet and Dougan, Lorna (2026) Data for "Botanical Biomaterials: From Wheat Gluten to Sustainable Hydrogels". University of Leeds. [Dataset] https://doi.org/10.5518/1876

Dataset description

Developing biomaterials with tuneable properties from abundant, renewable feedstocks is imperative for addressing the demands of a modern bioeconomy and fostering a circular economy. Wheat gluten is a sustainable building block for biomaterials due to its high abundance, including as a waste-product of the wheat starch industry. Here, we present a method for producing gluten-based hydrogels with tuneable mechanical properties from wheat gluten. This was achieved by solubilising commercial wheat gluten through controlled hydrolysis, yielding a precursor extract suitable for photo-initiated gelation. We characterise the mechanical properties of these hydrogels using rheology and show that gluten extract forms robust, elastic hydrogels with tuneable storage moduli from ~ 0.2 kPa to ~ 3.5 kPa. Small angle neutron scattering reveals a biomaterial with rich structural architecture, with a network of inter-connected fractal-like protein clusters, providing the load-bearing structure of the porous hydrogel matrix. Cryo-SEM images confirm a heterogeneous protein network is formed with a distribution of water-filled pores and protein clusters. To demonstrate the potential of the material for water-based applications, we perform swelling experiments on the gluten hydrogels, measuring water absorption with recorded swelling ratios of up to 200% over 3 hours. Controlling the level of photo-chemical crosslinking, via reagent concentration, allows for the tuning of the maximum swelling capacity of the gel from 100% to 200%. The study demonstrates that commercially available wheat gluten, processed through relatively straightforward protocols, can be transformed into mechanically robust, tuneable hydrogels. The resulting hierarchical porous matrix provides significant water-absorbent capacity, offering a scalable and sustainable route to produce renewable biomaterials.

Divisions:

Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences > School of Physics and Astronomy

License:

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Date deposited:

23 Jul 2026 09:55

URI:

https://archive.researchdata.leeds.ac.uk/id/eprint/1574