Further evidence of the changing nature of biopolymer networks in the presence of sugar

Despite claims made in the literature that polysaccharides maintain a substantially aggregated morphology in the form of ‘gel particulates’ or ‘gel islands’ at a high sugar environment, DSC results discussed in this paper demonstrate that extensive macromolecular order is not thermodynamically stable. Gelatin, on the other hand, appears to demix from the sugar rich domains, which promote chain association rather than inhibiting it. Despite claims made in the literature that polysaccharides maintain a substantially aggregated morphology in the form of ‘gel particulates’ or ‘gel islands’ at a high sugar environment, results of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) discussed now demonstrate that extensive macromolecular order is not thermodynamically stable. Gelatin, on the other hand, appears to demix from the sugar-rich domains, which promote chain association rather than inhibiting it. DSC evidence is supported by previously published transmission electron microscopy (TEM) work and mechanical analysis.