NANOSTRUCTURE AND NANOSCALE INTERACTIONS OF PROTEIN/POLYSACCHARIDE COACERVATES

Many health promoting ingredients are not stable during processing and handling. To overcome instability, the functional ingredients need to be encapsulated to avoid exposure to moisture, heat, or other extreme conditions. The widely used wall materials include polysaccharides and proteins, the two key components in both natural and processed foods. Polysaccharides and proteins have critical impacts on the structure and stability of food systems through their gelling, thickening, and surface-stabilizing functional properties. Proteins and polysaccharides are usually used in composites, especially when the creation of new products is required. Since both intrinsic functional properties of individual components and the interactions between two components determine the final structure, texture, and stability of the food materials, the knowledge of interactions between proteins and polysaccharides is of importance not only in making cost-efficient use of functional ingredients, but also in designing novel foods, controlling and improving the structures of food ingredients and textural properties of fabricated foods.