Aug 2026· International Journal of Biological Macromolecules· pp.
154269
· 0 citations· 35 references
Medicine
Abstract
Capillary suspensions are ternary solid-liquid-liquid systems formed by introducing a secondary fluid into a suspension of solid particles in a bulk liquid. While previous studies have established the concept of polymer-enhanced capillary suspensions, systematic quantitative correlations between polymer concentration and rheological performance remain lacking, and the potential of cationic biopolymers in edible systems has received limited attention. This study investigates capillary suspensions comprising corn oil (bulk phase), water (secondary phase), and egg white protein (EWP) microgel (particle phase), with chitosan (CS) introduced into the aqueous phase to modulate rheological properties. The results show that the capillary-force-driven particle network can be tuned by adjusting EWP content and water fraction, with optimal solid-like behavior achieved at water saturation > 0.15 and EWP content >30 wt%. At ΦP = 30%, increasing water content from S = 0.05 to 0.19 led to a three-orders-of-magnitude increase in viscosity with shear-thinning behavior. Notably, at a CS concentration of 0.15 wt% in the aqueous secondary phase, the yield stress increased 6.69-fold, and the oil constraint capacity and network stability were also enhanced. Confocal laser scanning microscopy reveals a denser EWP particle network, while Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirms more extensive hydrogen bonding upon CS addition, consistent with the enhanced viscoelasticity. This enhancement is attributed to synergistic effects between capillary bridging and CS-mediated hydrogen bonding. Overall, this work establishes a quantitative correlation between CS concentration and rheological reinforcement, and demonstrates the feasibility of employing a cationic biopolymer to tailor edible capillary suspension networks for food applications.
In vitro tests indicated that HIPEs enhanced lutein's resistance to storage, heat, and UV exposure while facilitating sustained intestinal release, resulting in a lutein bioaccessibility of 43.73 ± 1.44%.
To address the trade-off between friction reduction and proppant suspension in conventional fluids, an aqueous two-phase system comprising nanoparticle-reinforced biopolysaccharideand zwitterionic gel was developed for deep offshore reservoir stimulation. Specifically, xanthan gum (XG) serves as the dispersed phase, while a rehydratable sulfobetaine-type zwitterionic cross-linked gel (poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate)-co-poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate, PSBMA–PEGDA) synthesized via UV-initiated free radical polymerization followed by lyophilization and ball milling acts as the continuous phase. Silica nanoparticles are subsequently incorporated as a physical cross-linking reinforcing phase to ultimately yield a stable aqueous two-phase system. Comprehensive rheological, ball-on-disk tribological, and static proppant suspension characterizations reveal that the optimized system achieves an interfacial friction reduction efficiency of 82%, outperforming its single-phase counterpart by 41.3%. Furthermore, it exhibits a static proppant suspension duration exceeding 36 h, substantially outperforming that of conventional single-phase XG system (∼5.8 h). The friction reduction mechanism is primarily governed by the synergistic effect between the elastic kinetic energy dissipation of the semirigid XG network and the zwitterionic hydration lubrication layer. This robust proppant suspension capacity is attributed to the high-yield-stress 3D hybrid network, which is formed through the spatial interpenetration of the XG double-helical scaffold and PSBMA–PEGDA microdomains, and further fortified by silica nanoparticles acting as physical cross-linking nodes. Consequently, this aqueous two-phase system emerges as a highly functional fracturing fluid material, integrating superior friction reduction and proppant suspension properties for the reservoir stimulation of deep offshore oilfields.
Changlong Liu, Yunpeng Zhang, Fengming Liu et al.· Langmuir· 0 citations
An essential component of food items like mayonnaise and salad dressing is hen egg yolk. Phosvitin (PVT) is a phosphoprotein, which exists in the granules of this hen egg yolk which stabilizes the food emulsion by preventing phase separation. To understand, how this protein is adsorbed at the interface of water and edible oil in the presence and absence of lipids is essential for improved control in food production. To monitor the kinetics of this adsorption, the dynamic interfacial tension has been determined in the current investigation. The drop in interfacial tension over time indicates the adsorption of protein at interface which is enhanced on increasing the concentration of protein in water phase. However, at higher concentration, the positive activation energy hinders the adsorption process resulting a saturated interfacial tension. The dilation rheology of the macromolecular film at this oil-water interface shows the elastic nature of the film to be greater than the viscous nature, indicating the formation of a soft gel film. At low concentration, the zwitterionic lipid, 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero 3-phosphocholine (POPC), promotes this protein adsorption at the interface. Interestingly, at high concentration, the lipid overtakes the interface removing the protein from there. The lipid-protein composite film again shows the nature of a soft gel. The non-monotonic effects of lipids on assembly of protein at the water-edible oil interface is an important observation to optimize the composition of relevant food products.
Nancy Jaglan, Rumal Singh, S. K. Ghosh· 0 citations
The formulation of photosensitive SiC slurry with high solid loading, low viscosity, and long‐term stability remains a critical challenge. Herein, a triblock copolymer of poly(ethylene glycol)–block–poly(propylene glycol)–block–poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG–PPG–PEG) was employed as a kind of dispersant to modulate the wettability of SiC particle surfaces through hydrogen‐bonding anchoring interactions. The results demonstrate that with the addition of 6 wt % PEG–PPG–PEG, the slurry viscosity reaches a minimum, and the retained sedimentation height after 96 h is as high as 86%, indicating pronounced shear‐thinning behavior and excellent long‐term stability. Furthermore, fine SiC particles were incorporated to construct a particle size grading system, and the effects of particle size grading on slurry stability, rheological properties, and photosensitive properties were systematically investigated. Through the optimized debinding and liquid silicon infiltration (LSI) processes, the fabricated SiC ceramic achieves a density of 2.76 ± 0.01 g/cm3, a flexural strength of 198.21 ± 5.04 MPa, and a Vickers hardness of 27.95 ± 1.66 GPa. A honeycomb‐structured space mirror, printed using the bimodal slurry, exhibits superior surface quality after polishing and delivers clear, undistorted imaging. This work provides a novel strategy and theoretical foundation for enhancing the printability of high‐solid‐loading SiC slurry.
Shulei Xu, Chuanzhen Huang, Hanlian Liu et al.· Journal of The American Cera...· 0 citations
A novel fiber-based oleogel was prepared by capillary force-driven structuring of pomegranate seed meal insoluble dietary fiber (PSMF) in pomegranate seed oil (PSO). The effects of particle fraction (φ) and secondary fluid (water) content (S) on oleogel formation were assessed through microstructural, rheological, textural, and oil loss analyses. Increasing S shifted the system from fluid-like to gel-like behavior, with optimal properties at S = 0.5 and φ = 0.4, yielding the highest yield stress (1286 Pa), greatest hardness (109.44 N), and lowest oil loss. The formulation with S = 0.5 and φ = 0.33 showed textural properties comparable to a commercial spread. In vitro digestion of the selected oleogel increased free fatty acid release versus bulk oil. The optimized oleogel remained structurally stable under temperature changes, while bulk oil showed greater oxidation during 40 days of storage. Oxidation kinetic models successfully predicted changes in oxidation values over storage time.
Maryam Moradabbasi, S. Goli, Y. Soleimanian et al.· Food Chemistry· 0 citations
Water-in-water (W/W) emulsions are unique colloidal systems composed of two immiscible aqueous phases, featuring ultra-low interfacial tension, mild preparation conditions, and excellent biocompatibility. Owing to their distinctive interfacial properties and non-toxic aqueous environment, W/W emulsions have attracted extensive attention across colloid and interface science, food science, biomedicine, and pharmaceutical engineering, and have gradually become a hot research topic in interdisciplinary fields. In particular, recent advances have highlighted the importance of nanoparticle-stabilized Pickering W/W emulsions, which provide enhanced stability despite the intrinsically ultralow interfacial tension of such systems. This paper reviews the formation and phase separation mechanisms of W/W emulsions, summarizes the characteristics and stabilization strategies of Pickering stabilizers, discusses the regulatory rules of colloidal particle intrinsic properties, interfacial characteristics, and external environmental factors on emulsion stability, and explores their applications in the environment, medicine, food, and other fields. Finally, current challenges and future perspectives for the development of stable and functional W/W Pickering emulsions are discussed.
Lu Xu, Xing Zhou, Zhenye Sun et al.· Advances in Colloid and Inte...· 0 citations
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