Thermodynamic analysis of the impact of the surfactant-protein interactions on the molecular parameters and surface behavior of food proteins.

This paper reports on the thermodynamics of the interactions between surfactants (anionic, CITREM, SSL; nonionic, PGE; zwitterionic, phospholipids) and food proteins (sodium caseinate, legumin) depending on the chemical structure and molecular state (individual molecules, micelles) of the surfactants and the molecular parameters (conformation, molar mass, charge) of the proteins under changes of pH in the range from 7.2 to 5.0 and temperature from 293 to 323 K. The marked effect of the protein-surfactant interactions on the molecular parameters (the weight-average molar mass, the gyration and hydrodynamic radii) and the thermodynamic affinity of the proteins for an aqueous medium were determined by a combination of static and dynamic laser light scattering. Thermodynamically justified schematic sketches of the molecular mechanisms of the complex formation between like-charged proteins and surfactants have been proposed. In response to the complex formation between the proteins and the surfactants, the more stable and fine foams have been detected generally.

Thermodynamic and functional properties of legumin (11S globulin from Vicia faba) in the presence of small-molecule surfactants: effect of temperature and pH.

We report on the effect of a set of water-dispersible small-molecule surfactants (the main and the longest-hydrocarbon components of which are a citric acid ester of monostearate, a sodium salt of stearol-lactoyl lactic acid, and a polyglycerol ester of stearic acid) on molecular, thermodynamic, and functional properties of the major storage protein of broad beans (Vicia faba) legumin in different molecular states (native, heated, and acid-denatured). The interaction between legumin and the surfactants has been characterized by a combination of thermodynamic methods, namely, mixing calorimetry and multiangle laser static and dynamic light scattering. It was found that hydrogen bonds, electrostatic interactions, and hydrophobic contacts provided a basis for the interactions between the surfactants and both the native and the denatured protein in aqueous medium. Intensive association of the protein molecules in a bulk aqueous medium in the presence of the surfactants was revealed by static and dynamic laser light scattering. In consequence of this, both the surface activity and the gel-forming ability of legumin increased markedly, which has been shown by tensiometry, estimation of protein foaming capacity, and steady-state viscometry. A likely molecular mechanism underlying the effects of small-molecule surfactants on legumin structure-forming properties at the interface and in a bulk aqueous medium is discussed.