It is widely accepted that native xanthan forms a double helical structure and that it loses this structure upon heating (denaturation) and recovers the double helical structure upon cooling its solution (renaturation). The structure of renatured xanthan depends on the concentration of both xanthan and added salt, and temperature. Branched-rods and hairpin-shaped structures were observed by AFM depending on the conditions of denaturation and renaturation. The structural change observed by atomic force microscopy well agrees with the models proposed in our previous study.
- Yasuhiro Matsuda
- Fumitada Sugiura
- Shigeru Tasaka
