Physicochemical and rheo-mechanical properties of titanium dioxide reinforced sage seed gum nanohybrid hydrogel

Sage seed gum (SSG) is a promising biopolymer candidate for utilization and substitution prevalent galactomannan gels of interest in soft biomaterial applications. Herein, physicochemical and rheo-mechanical properties of SSG matrix reinforced by various titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles loading (0-25wt%) were monitored. Particle size and density of the nanocomposite increased with raising TiO2 content, due to the creation of more compact agglomerated and aggregated microstructure. Increasing the particle size resulted in lower electrophoretic mobility of SSG-TiO2 systems upon nanoparticles addition, confirmed the adsorption of TiO2 on the SSG macromolecule. Mechanical spectra of the SSG-based nanocomposites demonstrated a more solid-like behavior by lower frequency-dependent viscoelastic moduli, suggested a structural decoration of the nanohybrid gels discussed in terms of polymer bridging effect and formation of percolated matrix-particle superstructure. Crucial textural parameters improved with increasing TiO2 until a critical level (15 wt%), after which further increments in filler resulted in a reduction of hardness, adhesiveness and apparent modulus of elasticity. Deformation of rod-like junction zones acting as physical crosslinks in the system and fracture theory were used to explain the strain-stiffening and adhesive behavior of SSG-based gels, respectively. The nanocomposite gels with tunable functional properties might be ideal candidates for biomaterial industry. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Novel nanobiocomposite hydrogels based on sage seed gum-Laponite: Physico-chemical and rheological characterization

In this study, the physico-chemical and rheo-mechanical properties of sage seed gum hydrogel, reinforced by various ratios (0-25 wt.%) of Laponite, were investigated. Particles size measurements indicated the formation of large SSG-Laponite microstructures upon nanoparticle adding, due to the interactions generated between the anionic SSG and the charged surfaces of clay platelets. Laponite affected the surface tension and density of the SSG-based systems significantly, but only influenced the-potential above 20 wt.%. The dynamic rheological behavior of SSG-based nanocomposites reflected the reinforcing effect of secondary structures and percolated three-dimensional network, suggested a structural modification of the hydrogels with the Laponite loading. An improvement in texture profile analysis parameters was observed in Laponite content 5 wt.%, whereas for nanoparticles > 5 wt.%, a significant decrease was obtained. In conclusion, Laponite improved the rheological and physico-chemical properties of SSG-based hydrogel and extended its potential as promising future bio-products for industrial applications.Peer reviewe

Effects of coating formulation on structural changes of turkey nugget during frying: MRI evaluation

Application of nondestructive techniques combined with image processing techniques has been increasing in investigating the internal structure of food products. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is one of these methods. The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of coating formulation on structural properties of turkey nugget samples (turkey nugget with typical batter, tragacanth-containing batter and tragacanth) by MRI. Results revealed that the changes caused by the batter formulation could also be examined using the tomographic images. The results also indicated that the brightness of the MRI images of the nugget core and crust decreased during frying. The core of the nugget with the tragacanth-containing batter was brighter revealing its higher moisture content. Furthermore, the nugget core was less reduced in this sample compared with the other ones. This research aimed to present a valuable knowledge about nugget frying pertaining to quality evaluation