Impact of solvent quality on the network strength and structure of alginate gels

AbstractThe influence of the mixture of water and alcohols on the solubility and properties of alginate and its calcium-induced gels is of interest for the food, wound care and pharmaceutical industries. The solvent quality of water with increasing amounts of ethanol (0–20%) on alginate was studied using intrinsic viscosity. The effect of ethanol addition on the rheological and mechanical properties of calcium alginate gels was determined. Small-angle X-ray scattering and transmission electron microscopy were used to study the network structure. It is shown that the addition of ethanol up to 15% (wt) increases the extension of the alginate chain, which correlates with increased moduli and stress being required to fracture the gels. The extension of the polymer chain is reduced at 20% (wt) ethanol, which is followed by reduced moduli and stress at breakage of the gels. The network structure of gels at high ethanol concentrations (24%) is characterized by thick and poorly connected network strands

Impact of the coating process on the molecular structure of starch-based barrier coatings

Molecular analysis of starch structure can be used to explain and predict changes in physical properties, such as water vapor and oxygen barrier properties in packaging materials. Solution casting is a widely used technique to create films from starch formulations. This study compared the molecular properties of these standard films with those of experimental coatings applied to paper in laboratory-scale and pilot-scale trials, with all three techniques using the same starch formulation. The results revealed large differences in molecular structure, i.e., cross-linking and hydrolysis, between films and coatings. The main differences were due to the shorter drying time allowed to laboratory-scale coatings and the accelerated drying process in pilot trials owing to the high energy output of infrared dryers. Furthermore, surface morphology was highly affected by the coating technique used, with a rougher surface and many pinholes occurring in pilot-scale coatings, giving lower water vapor permeability than laboratory-scale coatings

Shear and extensional rheology of commercial thickeners used for dysphagia management

People who suffer from swallowing disorders, commonly referred to as dysphagia, are often restricted to a texture-modified diet. In such a diet, the texture of the fluid is modified mainly by the addition of gum or starch-based thickeners. For optimal modification of the texture, tunable rheological parameters are shear viscosity, yield stress, and elasticity. In this work, the flow properties of commercial thickeners obtained from major commercial suppliers were measured both in shear and extensional flow using a laboratory viscometer and a newly developed tube viscometry technique, termed Pulsed Ultrasound Velocimetry plus Pressure Drop (PUV + PD). The two methods gave similar results, demonstrating that the PUV + PD technique can be applied to study flow during the swallowing process in geometry similar to that of the swallowing tract. The thickeners were characterized in relation to extensional viscosity using the Hyperbolic Contraction Flow method, with microscopy used as a complementary method for visualization of the fluid structure. The gum-based thickeners had significantly higher extensional viscosities than the starch-based thickeners. The rheological behavior was manifested in the microstructure as a hydrocolloid network with dimensions in the nanometer range for the gum-based thickeners. The starch-based thickeners displayed a granular structure in the micrometer range. In addition, the commercial thickeners were compared to model fluids (Boger, Newtonian, and Shear-thinning) set to equal shear viscosity at 50/s and it was demonstrated that their rheological behavior could be tuned between highly elastic, extension-thickening to Newtonian.Practical applicationsThickeners available for dysphagia management were characterized for extensional viscosity to improve the understanding of these thickeners in large scale deformation. Extensional deformation behavior was further explained by using microcopy as corresponding technique for better understanding of structure/rheology relationship. Moreover, the major challenge in capturing human swallowing process is the short transit times of the bolus flow

Effect of dispersed particles on instant coffee foam stability and rheological properties

© 2016, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.Properties of instant coffee foam constitute the focus of this study. The coffee, obtained from commercial sources, was dispersed in water at a concentration in the range of standard use. The resulting solution contained a substantial amount of micron and submicron size particles that were filtered with membranes having difference size cut-offs in order to investigate the relationship foam properties—particles size. The foams produced from these solutions have been imaged by confocal laser scanning microscopy, and their moduli and stability have been measured by oscillatory rheology, using an in-house developed rheometric set-up. The results show that particles larger than 0.8 µm have little effect on the reduction of drainage while a clear strengthening effect on the foam was evident. This was a result of their diffusion to the lamellae borders, which increases the viscosity of the liquid–air interface. Particles smaller than 0.2 µm affect bubble coarsening and likely hinder the migration of soluble surface active species to the bubble surface. Particles also participate in the stabilization of the air–water interface, and this affects both the foam stability and mechanical properties. Established models developed for ideal foam systems containing particles are difficult to apply due to the complexity of the system studied. Despite this limitation, these results provide increased understanding of the effect of particles on instant coffee foams