Animal Hydrocolloids

Introduction

Animal-derived hydrocolloids include gelatin, whey protein, caseinate, chitosan and other products. Among them, gelatin is prepared from pigskin and bovine cartilage, bones and animal skins by acid method, alkali method and enzymatic method. The specific steps are shown in the figure below. Caseinate is obtained from a by-product of cheese manufacturing or from skim milk using membrane separation methods such as ultrafiltration, microfiltration and diafiltration. Chitosan is mainly produced by alkali deacetylation of chitin extracted from crustacean shells.

Research and Development

Animal hydrocolloids have many inherent properties and can be used as substrates or additives in many fields. Taking gelatin as an example, in the food industry, gelatin can be used as a thickening agent, emulsifier and stabilizer; in the pharmaceutical field, gelatin can be used as capsule packaging, plasma expanders, wound dressings and other products; and in the photographic industry. , gelatin can in turn be used as a coating, emulsion layer and non-curling layer on photographic elements. As a strongly basic polysaccharide, chitosan possesses many unique properties, including polyoxy salt formation, film-forming ability, chelated metal ions, and optical structure. Its application areas involve food, photography, cosmetics, artificial skin, wound dressings, ophthalmology, wastewater treatment, papermaking, biotechnology materials (cell stimulating materials, antibacterial agents, anticoagulants, fat traps, etc.), batteries, drug delivery systems, microcapsules/microspheres, etc.

Click On the Product Tile Below to Learn More

Alfa Chemistry can provide animal-derived hydrocolloids for a variety of applications, and we help customers develop application areas of hydrocolloids and create new products.

References

1. A Yemenicioğlu, et al. A review of current and future food applications of natural hydrocolloids. International Journal of Food ence & Technology. 2020.
2. Nur Hanani Z A, et al. Use and application of gelatin as potential biodegradable packaging materials for food products. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. 2014, 71:94-102.
3. Kumar M. A review of chitin and chitosan applications. Reactive and Functional Polymers. 2000, 46(1):1-27.

Click here to get in touch with us