Structure and Dynamics of Aqueous Dispersions

Abstract

The content of the chapter summarizes the long-term studies of the authors of the structure and dynamics of aqueous dispersions, including model protein-salt solutions, blood serum of healthy and sick people, food microdisperse systems. The data are considered in the context of the existing scientific literature on the stated problem. One of the important issues is the phase transitions of the protein when the ionic strength of the solution changes. To observe these processes, a drying droplet model, optical and atomic force microscopy are used. Based on the observations, a model of a cascade of phase transitions of a protein, from micelles to gel, was created. Parallels are drawn with the violation of these processes based on the results of the study of blood serum in seriously ill people. It is also shown that in the free volume of microdisperse systems there are near-hour oscillatory processes associated with the aggregation - disaggregation of the microdispersed phase. The surface tension of solutions, the mechanical properties of liquids, and the morphological characteristics of dried drops also fluctuate simultaneously. A model of self-oscillatory processes in such systems is presented, consistently describing the observed phenomena.