Christian Johansson

Research Summary:

Proteins adsorbs to fluid interfaces and act as a surfactant. This stabilizing behavior in foams and emulsions is of importance in the pharmaceutical and food industries. By measuring forces present in thin films and vary conditions such as pH, ionic strength and concentration, the stability of foams and emulsions can be understood. The thin film is created in a novel microfabricated film holder, recently designed in this department. By exposing the film to various pressures and measuring the film thickness a disjoining pressure isotherm can be constructed. The isotherm reveals which forces are present and the protein’s behavior as a surfactant. The objective of this research is to characterize ß-casein, a well-known milk protein.