Protein-Protein Interactions Govern Rheological and Mechanical Properties in Whey Protein Isolate-Gum Arabic Hydrogels: A Ratio-Dependent Structural Transition
Buckser, Edward
Buckser, Edward
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Abstract
This study systematically investigated how whey protein isolate (WPI) to gum arabic (GA) mass ratios govern the structural transition from fine-stranded to particulate hydrogel networks and analyzed the resulting viscoelastic and mechanical properties. WPI concentrations of 10-20% (w/v), and various WPI:GA mass ratios (20:1 to 2.5:1), were characterized via electron microscopy, oscillatory rheology, and mechanical testing, including: frequency and strain sweeps, axial compression, creep recovery, stress relaxation, and Burgers viscoelastic modeling. The addition of GA up to a critical WPI:GA mass ratio of ~5:1 progressively strengthened hydrogel networks through thermodynamic incompatibility-driven protein densification. Increasing the GA concentration from zero to 3% (ratio 5:1) also increased G' by three-fold while maintaining a fine-stranded microstructure. Beyond this threshold, excessive phase separation triggered structural collapse to a particulate-like morphology, reducing G' by approximately 50%. Burgers modeling quantified the WPI:GA mass ratio�s effects on specific relaxation modes in the hydrogel network. The fundamental structure-property relationships established here provide the foundation for these translational developments, positioning WPI:GA hydrogels as a tunable platform, and enabling rational design of tunable WPI:GA hydrogels for potential use in alternative protein applications.
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Date
1/1/2026
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Graduate Student
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Poster
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Materials Science and Engineering
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College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
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Engineering