Formation, Stability, and Mechanical Properties of Bovine Serum Albumin Stabilized Air Bubbles Produced Using Coaxial Electrohydrodynamic Atomization

Bovine serum albumin (BSA) microbubbles were generated using coaxial electrohydrodynamic atomization (CEDHA) using various concentrations of BSA solutions. The bubble characteristics and the long-term stability of the microbubbles were studied through adjustment of processing parameters and the collection media. Bubbles in the range of 40–800 μm were obtained in a controlled fashion, and increasing the flow rate of the BSA solution reduced the polydispersity of the microbubbles. Use of distilled water–glutaraldehyde, glycerol, and glycerol–Tween 80 collection media allowed a remarkable improvement in bubble stability compared to BSA solution collection medium. Possible physical mechanisms were developed to explain the stability of the microbubbles. The collection distance showed a marked influence on stability of the microbubbles. Near-monodisperse particle-reinforced microbubbles were formed with various concentrations of 2,2′-azobis­(isobutyramidine) dihydrochloride (AIBA)–polystyrene particle in BSA solution. The bubble size and the size distribution showed negligible change over a period of time irrespective of the concentration of particles at the bubble surface. The compression stiffness of the microbubbles was determined using nanoindentation at ambient temperature and showed that the stiffness of the microbubbles increased from 8 N/m to 20 N/m upon changing the concentration of BSA solution from 5 wt % to 15 wt %.