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Formation of locust bean gum hydrogel by freezing-thawing

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1998

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Abstract

The gelation process of locust bean gum (LBG) aqueous solution has been studied by rheological and calorimetric measurements. The storage modulus of the gel was found to be dependent on repeating cycles of the freezing–thawing process and freezing speed. When freezing–thawing was repeated more than three times, the dynamic rigidity of the hydrogel was about 50% more than that of the original polymer solution. Furthermore, the storage modulus was greater for the hydrogel prepared by 12°C min-1 freezing than that by 1°C min-1 freezing. These observations are explained in terms of the formation of ice crystals during the freezing process, observed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). © 1998 SCI.