Inducing mixing of water-in water BSA/dextran emulsion by a strong polyelectrolyte

We examine whether a small amount of strong polyelectrolyte (dextran sulfate sodium salt/DSS/) can induce mixing in water-in-water bovine serum albumin/dextran (BSA/DEX) emulsion and how intermacromolecular interactions affect its the rheological properties. Addition of DSS to water-in-water emulsion at pH 5.4 leads to its mixing at the DSS/BSA weight ratio, ( q ( DSS / BSA ) ) ≥ 0.07 , a noticeable increase in viscosity and storage modulus (G′). Mixing is reversible: increasing the ionic strength leads to phase separation in the water/BSA/DEX/DSS system. The increase in viscoelasticity results from the interaction of DSS with both macromolecular compounds of the emulsion. We assume that similar to compatibilization of polymer blends by diblock copolymers, the driving force for DSS induced mixing of water/BSA/DEX emulsion is the affinity of DSS to both macromolecular compounds of the emulsion.