Influence of calcium and sodium chloride on caseinomacropeptide self-assembly and flow behaviour at neutral pH

The effect of adding NaCl or CaCl2 on particle size distribution and flow behaviour of caseinomacropeptide (CMP) aqueous solutions was investigated over a wide range of concentrations (0-200 mmol L−1), temperatures (5-60 °C) and during 14 days of storage. In the absence of salts, CMP mainly presented a monomeric form at pH 7.0. If sodium or calcium chloride is added, hydrophobic associations of CMP is promoted due to screening of electric charges. Calcium chloride had a bigger impact than NaCl. Indeed, small variations in CaCl2 concentration induced major changes in size distributions and increased the viscosity and the cloudiness of CMP solutions upon storage. The largest aggregates and highest viscosities were obtained at concentrated regime (CMP concentration > 8 g/100 g), high CaCl2 concentration (>1.2 mmol g−1 CMP) and upon storage.