Surface shear rheology of adsorption layers from the protein HFBII hydrophobin: effect of added β-casein.

The surface shear rheology of hydrophobin HFBII adsorption layers is studied in angle-ramp/relaxation regime by means of a rotational rheometer. The behavior of the system is investigated at different shear rates and concentrations of added β-casein. In angle-ramp regime, the experimental data comply with the Maxwell model of viscoelastic behavior. From the fits of the rheological curves with this model, the surface shear elasticity and viscosity, Esh and ηsh, are determined at various fixed shear rates. The dependence of ηsh on the rate of strain obeys the Herschel–Bulkley law. The data indicate an increasing fluidization (softening) of the layers with the rise of the shear rate. The addition of β-casein leads to more rigid adsorption layers, which exhibit a tendency of faster fluidization at increasing shear rates. In relaxation regime, the system obeys a modified Andrade’s (cubic root) law, with two characteristic relaxation times. The fact that the data comply with the Maxwell model in angle-ramp regi...