Preparation and surface activity of gelatin derivative surfactants

Surface active gelatin derivative surfactants were formed by covalent attachment of hydrophobic groups to gelatin hydrolyzate molecules. The surface activity was evaluated by surface tension, wetting ability, emulsifying power and foaming properties. It was found that, the modified gelatins are more surface active than the gelatin hydrolyzate. The increase in hydrophobic chain length and the number of attached alkyl chains per gelatin hydrolyzate molecule leads to an increase in the surface activity. The modified gelatins also have high foaming ability and a high emulsifying ability, while the maximal surface activity is obtained by the C12 modified gelatin. The emulsification properties of the gelatin derivative surfactants were also compared to that of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and polyoxyethylene nonyl phenyl ether (NP-9), both emulsifying ability were equivalent to the C12 modified gelatin.