Whey protein microgel particles as stabilizers of waxy corn starch + locust bean gum water-in-water emulsions

Food-grade whey protein isolate (WPI) microgel particles were investigated as a particle stabilizer of water-in-water (W/W) emulsions. The microgel particles were produced via the novel method of forcing coarse particles of a pre-formed thermally processed WPI protein gel through a jet homogenizer. The Z-average particle size was 149 ± 89 nm but the particles showed a strong tendency for aggregation when the pH was lowered from pH 7 to 4, when the zeta potential also switched from -17 to +12 mV. The viscoelasticity of suspensions of the particles, measured between 1 and 15 vol.% (0.02 and 3 wt.%) increased with concentration and was also higher at pH 4 than pH 7. However, all the suspensions were only weakly shear thinning, suggesting that they did not form very strong networks. The particles were added (at 1-15 vol.%) to a model W/W system consisting of waxy corn starch (S) + locust bean gum (LBG) that normally shows phase separation when the components are mixed at 90 °C then cooled to room temperature (22-25 °C). At 10 to 15 vol.% particles and pH 4, visual observation showed striking inhibition of phase separation, for a period of up to 1 year. Confocal laser scanning microscopy suggested that under these conditions extensive aggregation of the microparticles occurred within the starch phase but also possibly at the W/W interface between the starch-rich and gum-rich regions, supporting a Pickering-type mechanism as responsible for the enhanced stabilization of the W/W emulsion by the microgel particles