Application Note: Rheology Modifiers: Κ-Carrageenan

Rheology modifiers are common additives used in nearly every industry to adjust both the overall viscosity magnitude and control the non-Newtonian behavior such as shear thinning. It is often beneficial to access multiple decades in shear rate to thoroughly characterize these formulations.

Κ-Carrageenan is a water-soluble polymer is used to prepare high viscosity non-Newtonian solutions. The rheological behavior of carrageenan solutions is easily tuned with concentration, ionic strength, and the presence of other proteins or macromolecules. Therefore, it is used in a broad range of industries. Although most recognizable as a food additive, it can also be found in everything from personal care products to water based paints and inks, and is becoming increasingly popular in pharmaceutical formulations. 

In this application note, we characterized the shear rate dependent viscosity of Κ-carrageenan in water at multiple concentrations. We utilized the multiple flow channels available for the VROC^® initium one plus to generate shear rate sweeps over a broad range for solutions containing the common rheology modifier Κ-carrageenan.