Design of interfacial films to control lipid oxidation in oil-in-water emulsions

In oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions, the droplets covered by native proteins are more prone to oxidation than droplets covered by surfactants. We attempted in this work to improve the barrier properties of protein-stabilized interfacial layers by controlled modifications of their composition and structure. Native bovine β-lactoglobulin (BLG) or β-casein (BCN), partially aggregated BLG and mixtures of the proteins with dilauroyl phosphatidylcholine (DLPC) were used to prepare emulsions and reconstituted Langmuir–Blodgett films. Lipid oxidation in the emulsions, as evaluated from oxygen uptake and formation of conjugated dienes, propanal and hexanal was roughly unmodified with aggregated BLG and DLPC–BLG mixtures and even favored with DLPC–BCN mixtures. The reconstituted phospholipid/protein interfacial layers presented interfacial heterogeneity evidenced by atomic force microscopy (AFM). This indicates that the structural homogeneity of the interface could be a key factor in controlling lipid oxidation.