Hydration and gelation

Chilton, W. G., Collison, R. (1974). Hydration and gelation of modified potato starches. Food TechnoL, 9,87-93. 

The solvation (hydration) and desolvation of ions is important to the gelation process in AB cement chemistry. The large dipole moment of ion-pairs causes them to interact with polar molecules, including those of the solvent. This interaction can be appreciable. Much depends on whether the solvent molecule or molecules can intrude themselves between the two ions of the ion-pair. Thus, hydration states can affect the magnitude of the interaction. The process leading to separation of ions by solvent molecules was perceived by Winstein et al. (1954) and Grunwald (1954). 

Water absorption or hydration is considered by some as the first and the critical step in imparting desired functional properties to proteins. Most additives are in dehydrated form the interaction with water is important to properties such as hydration, swelling, solubility, viscosity, and gelation. Protein has been reported to be primarily responsible for water absorption,... 

Many liquid detergent products contain components that serve as product viscosity modifiers, added to achieve the desired consistency of the commercial product. Cellulosic polymers, for instance, are an excellent example of such an additive and various polysaccharides are capable of gelation under specific thermal conditions. In such cases, heat transfer during manufacture may be required to complete hydration and effect the necessary conformational change in the select polymer system [85], in the appropriate aqueous environment. Products requiring controlled heat transfer processes may include various dental creams, shampoos, built liquid detergents, and hard surface cleaners. 

The term Functional Properties of Proteins in relation to foods refers to those physicochemical properties of a protein which affect the functionality of the food, i.e. its texture (rheology), colour, flavour, water sorption/binding and stability. Probably the most important physicochemical properties are solubility, hydration, rheology, surface activity and gelation, the relative importance of which depends on the food in question these properties are, at least to some extent, interdependent. 

Temperature The effect of temperature depends on the chemistry of the polymer and its mechanism of interaction with the medium. If the temperature is reduced once the gel is in the solution, degree of hydration is reduced and gelation occurs. ... 

In some aqueous polymer solutions, hydration is noncompetitive with association. For instance, in solutions of telechelic polymers, main chain hydration only indirectly affects the end-chain association. There is interference only in the region very close to the chain end. Dehydration and chain collapse start near the core of the flower micelles in the form of heterogeneous nucleation. The solutions with such coexisting hydration and association turn into gels on cooling (low-temperature gelation), while they phase separate at high temperatures. 

Hydration water, fat, and flavor binding gelation emulsifying foaming and whipping characteristics vary among different soy protein products and complete substitution of animal proteins by these products is not always possible (114). 

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