Biopolymer gel

Clark, A. H. and Ross-Murphy, S. B. Structural and Mechanical Properties of Biopolymer Gels. Vol. 83, pp. 57-193. 

A strain or stress sweep is used to establish the LVE region (Figure H3.2.4). The LVE region is a characteristic of a material. While the strain value at the limit of LVE rarely exceeds 0.1 for colloidal gels, a larger LVE region with a strain of up to 1 or more is usually observed for biopolymer gels (Clark and Ross-Murphy, 1987). 

Clark, A.H. andRoss-Murphy, S.B. 1987. Structural and mechanical properties of biopolymer gels. Adv. Polym. Sci. 83 57-192. 

However, a gel strand of a physical biopolymer gel is of larger dimensions... 

Because different biopolymer gel systems can be encountered, different gelation mechanisms also can be encountered. Because of variations in the number and nature of the cross-links, framework flexibility, attractions and repulsions between framework elements, and interactions with solvent, different properties of the formed gels... 

Table 6-2 Examples of Application of the Rubber Elasticity Theory to Biopolymer Gels System Measurement and Results... 

The idea of gel point has received much attention in synthetic and biopolymer gels. One can talk about gel point as an instant in time or as a specific temperature. In this chapter, the symbols and Tgei will be used for the gel time and gel temperature (Tobitani and Ross-Murphy, 1997a Foegeding et al., 1998), respectively. One can imagine many qualitative definitions of gel point, especially based on visual observation of individuals. Here, however, methods based on rheological measurements are emphasized. 

Table 6-5 Magnitudes of Activation Energy for Viscoelastic Properties of Biopolymer Gels... 

Many other studies can be found in the literature that contain more details on structure, mechanisms and rheology of mixed biopolymer gels, including reviews (Morris, 1990, 2000 Zasypkin et al., 1997). Also, recently, Lopes da Silva and Rao (2006) discussed several mixed biopolymer systems containing pectin. 

Clark, A. H. 1991. Stmctural and mechanical properties of biopolymer gels, in Food Polymers, Gels and Colloids, Dickinson, E. ed., pp. 322-338, The Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK. 

Higgs, P. G. and Ball, R. C. 1990. A reel-chain model for the elasticity of biopolymer gels, and its relationship to slip-link treatments of entanglements, in Physical Networks. Polymers and Gels, eds. W, Burchard and S. B. Ross-Murphy, Chapter 15, Elsevier Applied Science Publishers, Barking, England. 

Morris, E. R. 1992. The effect of solvent partition on the mechanical properties of biphasic biopolymer gels an approximate theoretical treatment. Carbohydr. Polym. 17 65-70. 

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