The influence of the type of oil phase on the self-assembly process of γ-oryzanol + β-sitosterol tubules in organogel systems

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Journal Title, Volume, Page: 
European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology , Volume 115, Issue 3, pages 295–300
Year of Publication: 
2013
Authors: 
Hassan Sawalha
Chemical Engineering Department, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine
Current Affiliation: 
Chemical Engineering Department, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine
Giel Margry
Laboratory of Physics and Physical Chemistry of Foods, Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Ruud den Adel
Unilever Research and Development Vlaardingen, Vlaardingen, The Netherlands
Paul Venema
Laboratory of Physics and Physical Chemistry of Foods, Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Arjen Bot
Unilever Research and Development Vlaardingen, Vlaardingen, The Netherlands
Eckhard Flöter
Unilever Research and Development Vlaardingen, Vlaardingen, The Netherlands
Erik van der Linden
Laboratory of Physics and Physical Chemistry of Foods, Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Preferred Abstract (Original): 
Mixtures of γ-oryzanol and β-sitosterol were used to structure different oils (decane, limonene, sunflower oil, castor oil, and eugenol). The γ-oryzanol and β-sitosterol mixtures self-assemble into double-walled hollow tubules (∼10 nm in diameter) in the oil phase, which aggregate to form a network resulting in firm organogels. The self-assembly of the sterol molecules into tubules was studied using light scattering and rheology. By using different oils, the influence of the polarity of the oil on the self-assembly was studied. The effects of temperature and structurant concentration on the tubuler formation process were determined and the thermodynamic theory of self-assembly was applied to calculate the change in Gibbs free energy (ΔG0), enthalpy (ΔH0), and entropy (ΔS0) resulting from the aggregation of the structurants was determined. The self-assembly was found to be enthalpy-driven as characterized by a negative ΔH0 and ΔS0. A decreasing polarity of the oil promotes the self-assembly leading to formation of tubules at higher temperatures and lower structurant concentrations.