Rheological properties of pullulan-sodium alginate based solutions during film formation.

During film formation, the rheological properties of pullulan, sodium alginate, and blends, dried at 50°C were studied using an oscillatory rheometer. According to the drying curves, the drying process of pullulan, alginate, and blend films was divided into three stages. At the first drying stage, four samples exhibited typical liquid-like viscoelastic behavior. As the drying proceeded (polysaccharide concentration up to 75%), pure pullulan chains formed an entangled network, whereas coupling of alginate molecules gave a weak gel. At this drying stage, complex viscosity data for 75% alginate and blends were fitted with the power law equation. The effects of drying on the mechanical properties of pullulan-sodium alginate based samples were analyzed using the generalized Maxwell model, and their relaxation spectra were determined. The rheological properties during drying obtained from this study is essential for understanding film-forming mechanism and predicting the properties of pullulan-sodium alginate based edible films.