Depletion-flocculation in oil-in-water emulsions using fibrillar protein assemblies.
This paper shows that low concentrations of beta-lactoglobulin fibrils can induce depletion-flocculation in beta-lactoglobulin-stabilized oil-in-water emulsions. The minimum required fibril concentration for flocculation was determined experimentally for fibril lengths of about 3 and 0.1 microm. The minimum fibril concentration for flocculation is two orders of magnitude higher for the short fibrils than for the long ones. These experimental results correspond well with a theoretical prediction based on a model of spinodal decomposition. In addition, rheological measurements were performed, verifying that flocculation was induced by a depletion mechanism. The results of this study show that the minimum concentration required for depletion-flocculation can be tuned by varying the length of the fibrils.
Food Physics Laboratory, Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences, Wageningen University, PO Box 8129, 6700 EV, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Theo B J
TB
Blijdenstein
Cecile
C
Veerman
Erik
E
van der Linden
D004655:Emulsions; D005427:Flocculation; D007782:Lactoglobulins / Q000737:chemistry*; D009821:Oils; D014783:Viscosity; D014867:Water
D004655:Emulsions; D007782:Lactoglobulins; D009821:Oils; D014867:Water