Salt and Temperature Effects on Xanthan Gum Polysaccharide in Aqueous Solutions.

Nsengiyumva, Emmanuel M.; Heitz, Mark P.; Alexandridis, Paschalis

Xanthan gum (XG) is a carbohydrate polymer with anionic properties that is widely used as a rheology modifier in various applications, including foods and petroleum extraction. The aim was to investigate the effect of Na+, K+, and Ca2+ on the physicochemical properties of XG in an aqueous solution as a function of temperature. Huggins, Kraemer, and Rao models were applied to determine intrinsic viscosity, [η], by fitting the relative viscosity (ηrel) or specific viscosity (ηsp) of XG/water and XG/salt/water solutions. With increasing temperature in water, Rao 1 gave [η] the closest to the Huggins and Kraemer values. In water, [η] was more sensitive to temperature increase (~30% increase in [η], 20–50 °C) compared to salt solutions (~15–25% increase). At a constant temperature, salt counterions screened the XG side-chain-charged groups and decreased [η] by up to 60% over 0.05–100 mM salt. Overall, Ca2+ was much more effective than the monovalent cations in screening charge. As the salt valency and concentration increased, the XG coil radius decreased, making evident the effect of shielding the intramolecular and intermolecular XG anionic charge. The reduction in repulsive forces caused XG structural contraction. Further, higher temperatures led to chain expansion that facilitated increased intermolecular interactions, which worked against the salt effect.

POLYSACCHARIDES; XANTHAN gum; TEMPERATURE effect; AQUEOUS solutions; INTRINSIC viscosity; MONOVALENT cations

International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2024, Vol 25, Issue 1, p490

1661-6596

Academic Journal

10.3390/ijms25010490