Elucidation of aqueous interactions between fish gelatin and sodium alginate

The interactions between fish gelatin (FG) and sodium alginate (AL) in aqueous solutions were investigated at 25 °C by turbidimetric acid titration, zeta potentiometry, dynamic light scattering, methylene blue spectrophotometry, confocal microscopy, and three types of state diagram. FG formed solid-state insoluble complexes, i.e., precipitates, with AL, mainly by electrostatic attractions; the complex formation was significantly influenced by pH, FG-to-AL weight ratio, total biopolymer concentration (CT), and ionic strength. The insoluble complexes formed below a boundary pH (pHφ1) underwent continuous aggregation during acid titration, until immediate visible precipitation occurred at another boundary pH (pHp). The formation and aggregation of insoluble complexes were facilitated by increasing CT or adding small amounts of NaCl, but were greatly suppressed in the presence of high NaCl concentration. The insoluble complexes were formed reversibly depending on pH and transformed to a coupled gel network after 24 h incubation, depending on pH, CT, and ionic strength.