Inulin and Soy-Protein Isolates Composite Products With Different Contents for the Preparation of Emulsion Inks Suitable for 3D Printing Properties

The practical application of 3D printing in the pharmaceutical and food sectors is directly related to the preparation of highly stable printable inks. Therein, inulin polysaccharides were used to prepare inulin-soy protein isolates (I-SPI) composite products via the Meladic reaction, which were subsequently used to prepare high inner phase emulsion (HIPE) to generate printable inks for the development of protein-based emulsions for 3D printing. Inulin polysaccharides interacted with SPI through surface molecular linkages. Fourier transfer infrared, low-field nuclear magnetic resonance, and x-ray diffraction all confirmed that inulin was efficiently composited with SPI. The glycosylation enhances the viscoelasticity of the material. Measurements of the rheological properties showed that the viscosity started to decrease when the inulin content reached 4%. We evaluated the 3D printing performance of HIPE. 3D printed samples obtained by adding 2% inulin polysaccharide showed high print definition and shape retention. The results suggest that the moderate addition of inulin could improve the 3D printing performance of food products.