Application Note - Thermal Phase Transition of κ-Carrageenan 

Polymers that undergo thermal phase or sol-gel transitions are suitable for various bio-related and food applications. κ-Carrageenan is a non-toxic, biocompatible hydrogel that has been extensively used as a gelling and thickening agent in food products.

Evaluating thermal phase transition of hydrogels is important in controlling their structure and properties for applications such as drug delivery systems, bio-inks, food stabilizing and gelling agents.

In this application note, we show how we use the RheoSense VROC^® initium one plus to investigate the viscosity changes of κ-carrageenan solutions as a function of temperature in order to gain a better understanding of the thermal phase transition. We also aim to demonstrate the effect of ionic strength and shear rate on the detection of the sol-gel transition of κ-carrageenan solutions.

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