Influence of sodium dodecyl sulfate on the thermal stability of bovine serum albumin stabilized oil-in-water emulsions

The influence of an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS) on the thermal stability of emulsions stabilized by a globular protein (bovine serum albumin, BSA) was examined. 1 wt% n-hexadecane oil-in-water emulsions (0.5 wt% BSA, 100 mM NaCl, 20 mM imidizole, pH 7.0) were held isothermally at temperatures from 30 to 90 °C for 30 min. Extensive droplet flocculation was only observed in emulsions held at 90 °C, which lead to rapid creaming instability. The thermal stability of emulsions heated at 90 °C could be greatly improved by adding SDS at surfactant-to-protein molar ratios (R) greater than 5 (∼0.01 wt% SDS). On the other hand, adding surfactant (0