Time-Resolved Small Angle X-Ray Scattering and Dynamic Light Scattering Studies of Sol-Gel Transition in Gelatin

Structural and dynamical properties of an aqueous gelatin solution (5 wt%, 0.1M NaCi, pH=7) in a sol-gel transition were studied by time-resolved small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) after quenching the gelatin sol at ∼45”C to 11°C. SAXS intensity measurements suggested the presence of gel fibrils which grew initially in cross-section. The average cross-section of the gel fibrils reached a constant value after an initial growth period of ∼800 sec. Further increase in SAXS intensity could be attributed to the increase in the length of the gel fibrils. Photon correlation, on the other hand, clearly showed two relaxation modes in both the sol and the gel (∼1 hr after the quenching process) states: a fast cooperative diffusion mode which remained constant from the sol to the gel state after correction for the temperature dependence of solvent viscosity; and a slow mode that could be attributed to the self-diffusion of the “free” gelatin chains and aggregates. The slow mode contribution to the time correlation function was reduced from ∼40% in sol to ∼20% in gel signaling a decrease but not the elimination of “free” particles in the gel network. The decrease in the intensity contribution by the slow mode is, however, accompanied by a large increase in the characteristic line-width distribution.