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Nanorheological Studies of Caseins

Helstad, Kristina LU (2006)
Abstract
To be able to improve the quality of dairy products and dairy processes, knowledge of casein molecules, casein micelles and casein aggregates is important. The rheological properties of casein products, casein gels and adsorbed layers of casein, have been widely investigated. However, the micellar properties of casein could, until recently, only be studied by ensemble methods such as dynamic light scattering and microscopic techniques, using dried or frozen samples. Nano-techniques, such as atomic force microscopy (AFM) have now made it possible to make complementary nanorheological measurements in a liquid environment. In this thesis, the observed nanorheological properties of single casein micelles, adsorbed thin casein layers and... (More)
To be able to improve the quality of dairy products and dairy processes, knowledge of casein molecules, casein micelles and casein aggregates is important. The rheological properties of casein products, casein gels and adsorbed layers of casein, have been widely investigated. However, the micellar properties of casein could, until recently, only be studied by ensemble methods such as dynamic light scattering and microscopic techniques, using dried or frozen samples. Nano-techniques, such as atomic force microscopy (AFM) have now made it possible to make complementary nanorheological measurements in a liquid environment. In this thesis, the observed nanorheological properties of single casein micelles, adsorbed thin casein layers and rennet-induced casein-retentate gels, are presented and discussed.



The ultimate objective of these studies was to investigate the relationship between the local and the macroscopic rheological properties of cheese. The renneted casein gels were produced from casein retentate from ultrafiltration (UF), as another objective of the work was to increase our knowledge on cheese production from concentrated milk.



Natural rennet-induced cheese is essentially a particulate calcium phosphate-para-casein matrix, composed of interconnected and overlapping strands of partially fused para-casein aggregates, which are in turn made up of para-casein micelles. To increase our knowledge on the nanorheological behaviour of the building blocks of the casein matrix, the first step was to investigate single adsorbed casein micelles. In the AFM measurements, the nanorheological properties of adsorbed casein micelles could not be explained by any model describing an elastic material (Paper I). Preliminary results led to investigations of the possibility that surface tension phenomena could explain the rheological behaviour. Results from computer modelling confirmed that essential features of such model corresponded to the relation between force and indentation from AFM measurements. A surface tension of 10 mNm-1 was calculated for a casein micelle attached to a hydrophobic graphite surfaces in a Ca-imidazole buffer environment (Paper III). (Less)
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author
supervisor
opponent
  • Professor Dalgleish, Douglas, Department of Food Science, University of Guelph, Canada
organization
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Livsmedelsteknik, Food and drink technology, Biokemisk teknik, Biochemical technology, Casein micelle, Caseins, Nanorheology
pages
118 pages
publisher
Food Engineering, Lund Univeristy
defense location
Lecture hall B, the Centre for Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Getinge vägen 60 Lund Institute of Technology
defense date
2006-01-20 13:15:00
ISBN
91-628-6724-5
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
50c1234c-66a2-4635-90af-29be63054566 (old id 546049)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 11:15:58
date last changed
2018-11-21 21:03:42
@phdthesis{50c1234c-66a2-4635-90af-29be63054566,
  abstract     = {{To be able to improve the quality of dairy products and dairy processes, knowledge of casein molecules, casein micelles and casein aggregates is important. The rheological properties of casein products, casein gels and adsorbed layers of casein, have been widely investigated. However, the micellar properties of casein could, until recently, only be studied by ensemble methods such as dynamic light scattering and microscopic techniques, using dried or frozen samples. Nano-techniques, such as atomic force microscopy (AFM) have now made it possible to make complementary nanorheological measurements in a liquid environment. In this thesis, the observed nanorheological properties of single casein micelles, adsorbed thin casein layers and rennet-induced casein-retentate gels, are presented and discussed.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The ultimate objective of these studies was to investigate the relationship between the local and the macroscopic rheological properties of cheese. The renneted casein gels were produced from casein retentate from ultrafiltration (UF), as another objective of the work was to increase our knowledge on cheese production from concentrated milk.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Natural rennet-induced cheese is essentially a particulate calcium phosphate-para-casein matrix, composed of interconnected and overlapping strands of partially fused para-casein aggregates, which are in turn made up of para-casein micelles. To increase our knowledge on the nanorheological behaviour of the building blocks of the casein matrix, the first step was to investigate single adsorbed casein micelles. In the AFM measurements, the nanorheological properties of adsorbed casein micelles could not be explained by any model describing an elastic material (Paper I). Preliminary results led to investigations of the possibility that surface tension phenomena could explain the rheological behaviour. Results from computer modelling confirmed that essential features of such model corresponded to the relation between force and indentation from AFM measurements. A surface tension of 10 mNm-1 was calculated for a casein micelle attached to a hydrophobic graphite surfaces in a Ca-imidazole buffer environment (Paper III).}},
  author       = {{Helstad, Kristina}},
  isbn         = {{91-628-6724-5}},
  keywords     = {{Livsmedelsteknik; Food and drink technology; Biokemisk teknik; Biochemical technology; Casein micelle; Caseins; Nanorheology}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Food Engineering, Lund Univeristy}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  title        = {{Nanorheological Studies of Caseins}},
  year         = {{2006}},
}