The Effect of Concentration on the Cross-Linking and Gelling of Sodium Carbonate-Soluble Apple Pectins
Institute of Agrophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Doświadczalna 4, 20-290 Lublin, Poland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Cédric Delattre
Molecules 2019, 24(8), 1635; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24081635
Received: 3 April 2019 / Revised: 20 April 2019 / Accepted: 22 April 2019 / Published: 25 April 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Fascinating Story of Natural Polysaccharides in Glycosciences: From Extraction to Applications)
The cross-linking and gelation of low-methoxy pectins are basic processes commonly used in different industries. The aim of this research was to evaluate the cross-linking process of the sodium carbonate-soluble pectins (named DASP) extracted from apples, characterized by a low degree of methylesterification as a function of its concentration in water (CDASP). The cross-linking process was studied with a dynamic light scattering method, atomic force microscope (AFM), viscosity and pH measurements. An increase in CDASP above 0.01% resulted in a decrease in the aggregation index (AI) and the change of its sign from positive to negative. The value of AI = 0 occurred at CDASP = 0.33 ± 0.04% and indicated the formation of a pectin network. An increase in CDASP caused the changes in viscosity of pectin solutions and the nanostructure of pectins spin-coated on mica observed with AFM, which confirmed results obtained. The hydrogen bonds were involved in the cross-linking process.