Influence of the degree of freedom in molecular motion in gelatin gelation

Abstract

The gel maturation behaviour of aqueous gelatin was studied with dynamic rheometry, optical rotation measurement and differential scanning calorimetry. The gelation conditions were controlled with several temperature programmes focusing on controlling the degree of freedom in molecular motion of the cross-linked sites through thermal agitation. It is demonstrated that the gel maturation proceeds more effectively under conditions with the appropriate degree of freedom. The observed behaviour was interpreted with a model including helix precursor generation and rearrangement from the precursor to an ordered helix.

Keywords:

• degree of freedom
• molecular motion
• gelatin
• gelation