Tailoring Water-Induced Multi-Component (Ceramide and Lecithin) Oleogels: Influence of Solute Added in Water

In our previous study, a water-induced multi-component oleogel comprised of ceramide and lecithin was developed for the first time. The water hydrated the ceramide/lecithin crystals and rearranged the crystal packing, thus leading to oleogelation. To further tailor the gelation properties of this multi-component system, we added different solutes in the aqueous phase. Samples with NaOH and H 3 PO 4 solutions in various ionic concentrations (2 M, 10 M and 20 M) were prepared. It was observed that the addition of NaOH enhanced the gel strength, while the addition of H 3 PO 4 reduced the gel strength. The G’ of 10.0 M NaOH sample (~2.3 × 10 4 Pa) was significantly higher than that of H 2 O sample (~6.6 × 10 2 Pa). Results from temperature scanning showed that the aqueous phase properties affected the microstructure and rheological properties of the gel by adjusting the arrangement of crystals. FTIR results indicated that the addition of NaOH or H 3 PO 4 mainly affected the system by interfering the interactions between lecithin and water molecules. This study confirmed the importance of aqueous phase on self-assembly of water-induced multicomponent gel systems and provided solutions that could be utilized to further adjust the properties of such systems.