Surface forces in model oil-in-water emulsions stabilized by proteins

We have employed two complementary techniques, namely, the magnetic chaining technique (MCT) and a variant of the Mysels cell to obtain data concerning the repulsive interaction profiles between protein layers formed at liquid-liquid interfaces. For BSA-stabilized systems, a long-ranged repulsion is operative. It is not of an electrostatic origin, but originates most probably from the formation of multiple protein layers at the interface. The interactions between beta-casein layers formed at the water/oil interface are governed by electrostatic repulsion. Due to the relatively large final thickness of approximately 20 nm, the van der Waals contribution to the total disjoining pressure is inferior. The oscillatory component is also negligible for the studied protein concentration of 0.1 wt.%. For both proteins, the extracted information describes the situation where the protein-covered surfaces are approached/manipulated in a quasi-static manner. We observe a very good agreement between the data obtained from MCT and Mysels cell. The comparison of our results with literature data from surface force apparatus (SFA) experiments reveals a substantial difference in the force laws existing between protein-stabilized liquid droplets and mica surfaces covered by proteins. We explain this discrepancy in terms of the different protein absorption on solid and liquid interfaces. We also measured the threshold force necessary to induce irreversible flocculation in beta-casein and beta-lactoglobulin (BLG) stabilized emulsions. Under similar conditions, the threshold flocculation force is higher for beta-casein than for BLG stabilized droplets. The flocs formed from BLG covered droplets are tight and remain without visible change for at least 48 h. We speculate that the flocculation is due to formation of protein aggregates between the approaching droplets.