Prediction of the properties of food biopolymer gels at the molecular-atomic level

Abstract

The analysis of the main regularities, conditions and factors influencing the mechanism of structural changes in food biopolymer molecules during gelation using the laws of thermodynamics is carried out. A computational method for predicting the properties of gel-like food systems is considered. It makes it possible to establish the dependence of the characteristic viscosity of aqueous solutions of hydrocolloids and the hydrodynamic radius of biopolymer molecules on the charge of its molecular structures and the pH of the active acidity of the medium. On the example of gelatin, calculations are presented and it is shown that, in comparison with a neutral medium, the hydrodynamic radius of protein molecules increases approximately to (120–123) % both at high and low pH values, which makes it possible to predict the water-binding capacity of protein molecules and determine the optimal modes of technological processes.