Review on the impact of the molecular structure of pectin on the associative phase separation with proteins
Stephan Drusch, Marc Eichhorn, S. Heinert, Jenny Weißbrodt, R. Morales‐Medina
Abstract
Associative phase separation is a phenomenon behind a range of undesirable and desirable changes in foods. Re-visiting the factors affecting associative phase separation between pectin and proteins, it becomes obvious that enthalpic factors like charge density and molecular ratio between the biopolymers, ionic strength and pH are well characterized in contrast to entropic factors like molecular weight and conformation of the biopolymers involved. A better understanding resulting from analytical characterization on the submicron level as well as modelling techniques will allow the development of tailor-made pectin-based biopolymer structures for increased functionality in food design.