ABSTRACT
Knowledge of the nanoscale structure of mixed biopolymer phases and protein-polysaccharide complexes is still very scarce. Under such circumstances, numerical simulations can show how the supramolecular structural complexity changes depending on ionic strength and pH, as well as the chain length, flexibility and charge density of the polyelectrolytes (Grymonpré et al., 2001; Akinchina and Linse, 2002; Hayashi et al., 2003). In the case of food colloids, the computer simulation and theoretical modelling of systems with well-defined interactions between the surfaces of the particles can allow us to gain deeper insight into the effect of the nature and strength of biopolymer interactions on the structural features of adsorbed layers under various environmental conditions (Whittle et al., 2000; Ettelaie et al., 2008).
