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.