Structural and viscoelastic characterization of ternary mixtures of sunflower oil, saturated monoglycerides and aqueous phases containing different bases

• The base type and its concentration affected the gel structure.
• The cation considered in combination with the anion did not affect the final gel structure.
• Base concentration and type affected monoglyceride bilayer thickness.
• Gel rheological parameters were greatly modified by base concentration.

The structure at different length scales and the viscoelastic properties of ternary mixtures composed of saturated monoglycerides, sunflower oil and aqueous solutions of weak bases (KHCO3, NaHCO3, and NH4HCO3) or strong bases (NaOH and KOH) were investigated. The characteristics of ternary mixtures were studied systematically by using polarized light microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) and rheological analysis. Results showed that the base type and concentration greatly affected the structure of the mixtures. The use of strong bases allowed gelled systems to be obtained only at low concentrations (< 10 mM). On the contrary, the presence of weak bases induced gelling at all concentrations considered (from 1 to 1000 mM). The increase of base concentration led to a reduction of the mean droplet diameter and melting temperature. At the same time, the viscoelastic characteristics as a function of base concentration followed a more complex behavior: G′ and G″ progressively decreased as the salt concentration increased in a concentration range from 1 to 100 mM, while the rheological parameters increased when salt concentration increased from 100 to 1000 mM. The structural and viscoelastic behavior of systems prepared with different salts were commonly independent of the cation present in the medium. Results highlight that it is possible to tailor the structure of these gels by using specific bases.