ABSTRACT
Introduction ........................................................................................................ 273
Microscopical Methods ..................................................................................... 274
The Atomic Force Microscope ................................................................. 274
The Scanning Near-Field Optical Microscope ...................................... 275
Sample Preparation ........................................................................................... 276
Interfacial Structures ......................................................................................... 276
Protein-Surfactant Interactions............................................................... 276
Mixed Protein Films .................................................................................. 281
Real Systems ............................................................................................... 282
Droplet-Droplet Interactions................................................................... 284
Conclusions......................................................................................................... 286
Acknowledgments ............................................................................................. 287
References ........................................................................................................... 287
Preparation of food foams and emulsions requires the creation and
stabilization of air-water or oil-water interfaces. Interfaces found in food
systems contain a range of surface-active molecules and the interactions
between these components determine the long-term stability of the foam or
emulsion. The most common species present at the interface will be proteins
and various small, highly mobile molecules such as surfactants or lipids.
Both proteins and surfactants (or lipids) are capable, on their own, of
stabilizing interfaces, but they do so by different molecular mechanisms
(Wilde et al., 2004).
