The interaction of sodium carboxymethylcellulose with gelatin in the absence and presence of NaCl, CaCl2 and glucose

Abstract

Abstract The behavior of gelatin/sodium carboxymethylcellulose (NaCMC) mixtures in an aqueous medium was investigated as a function of the pH, the protein to polysaccharide weight ratio and the total biopolymer concentration. The polydispersity of these solutions was investigated by measuring the UV-vis absorbance of the mixture at 650 nm. The change in the absorbance at 650 nm for all gelatin/NaCMC/water dispersions showed that the most significant interaction by this technique was at a pH of 4.2. Increasing the total concentration of biopolymers greatly increased the interaction between gelatin and NaCMC. It was also found that at this value of pH, and at a remarkable value of the protein to polysaccharide weight ratio of 1:1, the electrostatic interactions between gelatin and NaCMC were maximum. It was demonstrated that the addition of an anionic polysaccharide such as NaCMC can affect the behavior of gelatin in solution. In addition to the pH of the solution, other factors such as the presence of NaCl, CaCl2 and glucose may affect the rate of helicity and the scattering power of the gelatin. This has been confirmed by infrared spectroscopy as well as polarimetry.