Gelation Mechanism of Curdlan by Dynamic Viscoelasticity Measurements

Gelation of curdlan was classified into two forms: thermo-reversible and thermo-irreversible gelation. The temperature dependence of the rheological properties indicated that the temperature at which the transition to thermo-irreversible gel system occurred was concentration-dependent, while thermo-reversible gel formation temperature was independent of concentration. An increase in concentration lowered the irreversible gel formation temperature from the generally reported 80°C and decreased the amount of thermo-reversible component in the final gel. This indicates that an increase in the curdlan concentration promoted hydrophobic interactions between micelles at junction zones at a lower temperature than 80°C.