This study investigates the ability of various wheat germ protein hydrolysates (WGPHs) to bind calcium and characterizes the peptide-calcium complexes. We demonstrate that the amount of Ca bound depended greatly on the type of enzyme, degree of hydrolysis (DH), amino acid composition, and molecular mass distribution of different hydrolysates. The maximum level of Ca bound (67.5 mg·g(-1)) occurred when Alcalase was used to hydrolyze wheat germ protein at a DH of 21.5%. Peptide fragments exhibiting high calcium-binding capacity had molecular mass <2000 Da. The calcium-binding peptides mainly consisted of Glu, Arg, Asp, and Gly, and the level of Ca bound was related to the hydrophobic amino acid content in WGPHs. UV-visible and Fourier transform infrared spectra demonstrate that amino nitrogen atoms and oxygen atoms on the carboxyl group were involved in complexation. Therefore, wheat germ protein is a promising protein source for the production of calcium-binding peptides and could be utilized as a bioactive ingredient for nutraceutical food production.

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Cobalt-doped graphene-coupled hypercrosslinked polymers (Co-GHCP) have been successfully prepared on a large scale, using an efficient RAFT (Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain Transfer Polymerization) emulsion polymerization and nucleophilic substitution reaction with Co (II) porphyrin. The Co-GHCP could be transformed into cobalt-doped porous carbon nanosheets (Co-GPC) through direct pyrolysis treatment. Such a Co-GPC possesses a typical 2D morphology with a high specific surface area of 257.8 m2 g−1. These intriguing properties of transition metal-doping, high conductivity, and porous structure endow the Co-GPC with great potential applications in energy storage and conversion. Utilized as an electrode material in a supercapacitor, the Co-GPC exhibited a high electrochemical capacitance of 455 F g−1 at a specific current of 0.5 A g−1. After 2000 charge/discharge cycles, at a current density of 1 A g−1, the specific capacitance increased by almost 6.45%, indicating the excellent capacitance and durability of Co-GPC. These results demonstrated that incorporation of metal porphyrin into the framework of a hypercrosslinked polymer is a facile strategy to prepare transition metal-doped porous carbon for energy storage applications.

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