Synthesis and rheological studies of a novel composite hydrogel of xanthan, gellan and pullulan.

Hydrogels are three dimensional polymeric structures and are of great importance to industrial sector due to their signature physiochemical and mechanical properties. Use of natural polysaccharides as the components of hydrogel composite is of great interest due to their non-toxic nature, biodegradability, biocompatibility and viscoelastic properties. The present study reports a novel hydrogel composed of xanthan, gellan and pullulan. Unlike, pullulan and xanthan, this tri-composite formed a stable gel having high water retention ability and swelling ratio. The synergistic effects of individual components of the hydrogel on viscoelastic properties and flow behaviour were also studied. The hydrogel composite also indicated swelling ratio in alkaline environment attributed to the ionisation of hydrogel components in response to the presence of OH moieties. Overall results indicated that the composite hydrogel can have plausible application in food industry as it displays viscoelastic nature and flow behaviour index (n) values for composites within the desirable range.