Phase transitions of κ-Carrageenan gels in various types of salts

Sol-gel and gel-sol phase transitions of K-carrageenan in various types of salts were studied using photon transmission technique. Here, LiCl, NaCl, KCl, MgCl2, CaCl2, and SrCl2 were chosen as the proper salts for the K-carrageenan-water system. Photon transmission intensity, I-tr was monitored against temperature to determine the sol-gel and gel-sol temperatures (T-sg and T-gs) and activation energies (Delta E-sg and Delta E-gs). It was observed that T-gs temperatures were notably higher than T-sg due to the hysteresis on the phase transition loops. It was observed that stronger carrageenan gels are formed in the presence of KCl compared to the others. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.