Rheology of mixed beta-casein/beta-lactoglobulin films at the air-water interface.

The adsorption of dilute mixtures of beta-casein/beta-lactoglobulin to the air-water interface was investigated using surface dilatation and surface shear rheology. The data were fitted to simple rheological models to try to gain further information regarding the composition and nature of the interface. The dilatational measurements suggested that the composition of the interface could be determined using these models and that the surface concentration was dominated by the beta-casein in the early stages of adsorption but that high levels of beta-lactoglobulin were present in the final stages. Surface shear rheological measurements showed a similar trend. However, the shear measurements appeared to be more sensitive to the strength of the network than to the composition of the interface. Fluorescence microscopy supported the findings and demonstrated that any "phase separation" capable of affecting the surface rheological measurements occurred at the sub-micrometer scale. The results also demonstrated that the heterogeneity of the interface, once formed, is kinetically trapped, and no further phase separation occurs over the time span of the experiments.