Properties of Foam Formed from BSA/Tween‐20 Mixtures

Abstract

The stability of foam formed from different BSA/Tween‐20 mixed solutions was studied by detecting the foam height and the foam half‐life. Factors that affect the stability of foam are also discussed via surface tension, π‐A isotherm, and specific viscosity. The experimental results show that Tween‐20 and BSA can form a complex film at the air/water surface, and the former can replace the latter from the surface to the bulk with increasing Tween‐20 concentration. The lowest regions in the plots of both foam height and half‐life of foam are with the Tween‐20 and BSA mixed solution, which locate around the CMC value of Tween‐20. It was concluded from the experimental results that the replacement between Tween‐20 and BSA is the main factor in the stability of foam. Meanwhile, BSA molecules play an important role in the stabilization of foam whether they are in air/water interface or the bulk phase.

Keywords:

• Tween‐20
• bovine serum album (BSA)
• foam ability
• foam stability

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Key Project of China (2004BA313B20) and NSF of Shandong Provice (Y2001B08).