No abstract

This study investigated the effects of attachment of fatty acid chains to gelatin molecules on their conformation and some functional properties in order to determine the effectiveness of this procedure for improving the emulsifying properties of gelatin. The esterification conferred upon the gelatin molecules a folded configuration resulting in a lambda(max) of fluorescence emission shift to lower wavelengths and decreases in solubility, intrinsic viscosity, and gelling ability. In contrast, surface hydrophobicity increased with extent of esterification, and the esterified derivatives exhibited higher emulsion stabilities. These results indicated that the oligomeric structure and functional attributes of the gelatin were altered with the modification.

This study investigated the esterification of pigskin gelatin with fatty acid catalyzed by acid in aqueous medium. Factors affecting the esterification reaction B temperature, pH, water content, fatty acid concentration, fatty acid type and reaction time-were elucidated in the view of optimizing the reaction. Under the same experimental conditions, increase in fatty acid concentration permitted the determination of the maximum amount of fatty acid that could be esterified per unit weight of gelatin and demonstrated that not all the hydroxyl functional groups present in the gelatin could be blocked by the fatty acid chains.