Panouillé Maud, Durand Dominique, Nicolai Taco, Larquet Eric, Boisset Nicolas
Polymères, Colloïdes, Interfaces, UMR-CNRS, Université du Maine, 72085 Le Mans cedex 9, France.
J Colloid Interface Sci. 2005 Jul 1;287(1):85-93. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2005.02.008.
Micellar casein particles (submicelles) are formed by removing calcium phosphate from native casein. The submicelles aggregate and eventually form a gel with a rate that increases strongly with increasing temperature and casein concentration. At low casein concentrations the gel is very weak and collapses under its own weight so that a precipitate is formed. The structure of the aggregates is studied using light scattering and cryo-electron microscopy. It is found that the aggregates have a self-similar structure with fractal dimension 2. The viscoelastic properties of the gel are studied by frequency scans of the loss and storage moduli during the gelation process. The bonds between the submicelles probably involve calcium phosphate complexes.
