Effect of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Surfactant on Rheological Properties of Gellan Gum Hydrogels

Rheological measurements on gellan gum hydrogels were carried out to investigate the effect of an anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) on hydrogel structure. The gel strength was found to be strongly correlated to surfactant concentration. Below the Critical Micellar Concentration (CMC), we observed an increase in gel strength with rise in surfactant concentration and a reverse trend is observed for surfactant concentration above CMC. The gel network structure is found to be highly elastic below CMC, while an aggregated network is observed at higher concentration of surfactant. With the addition of surfactant, sol to gel transition temperature of Gellan Gum is shifted to higher temperature, suggesting addition of surfactant promotesas well as stabilizes the helix formation.