MODELING GELATION OF EGG-ALBUMIN AND OVALBUMIN

The Flory gelation theory and a new protein gelation model were used to investigate the aggregation reactions of egg albumen and ovalbumin. Results showed that 178 to 267 ovalbumin monomers were required to establish the initial ovalbumin gel at the gel point temperature, 81-degrees-C. The gel point temperature for egg albumen was 72-degrees-C by the Instron and 60-degrees-C by protein solubility. The values of the activation energy rate constants for the formation of the different aggregates in the pre-gel stage suggested that the larger ovalbumin aggregates were more reactive than the smaller ones.