Gellan Gum
Product Description
Gellan gum is a high molecular weight polysaccharide produced by the bacterium Sphingomonas elodea through fermentation. It is widely used in various industrial applications due to its unique properties as a gelling agent, thickener, stabilizer, and emulsifier.
Product:
Gellan Gum
CAS:
71010-52-1
Synonym:
Gelrite; Phytagel; Agar substitute gelling agent
Structure:
Typical Characteristics
Appearance
White powder
Density
0.32 - 0.45 g/cm3
Molecular Weight
500
Purity
99%
Uses, Applications & Markets
Key applications
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Gellan Gum used in many
industry applications
Gellan gum is a high molecular weight polysaccharide produced by the bacterium Sphingomonas elodea through fermentation. It is widely used in various industrial applications due to its unique properties as a gelling agent, thickener, stabilizer, and emulsifier. Some of the key industrial applications of gellan gum include:
- Food and Beverage: Gellan gum is commonly used in the food industry as a gelling agent and stabilizer in a wide range of food and beverage products. It is particularly effective in creating gels with a smooth texture and excellent heat stability. Gellan gum is used in dairy products, desserts, confectionery items, fruit juices, sauces, dressings, and plant-based alternatives to improve texture, mouthfeel, and shelf life.
- Personal Care and Cosmetics: Gellan gum is utilized in the personal care and cosmetics industry as a thickener, stabilizer, and suspending agent in skincare products, hair care products, and color cosmetics. It helps to enhance the viscosity, stability, and sensory properties of lotions, creams, gels, shampoos, conditioners, and styling products.
- Pharmaceuticals: Gellan gum is used in the pharmaceutical industry to produce controlled-release drug formulations, oral liquid suspensions, and topical gels. It acts as a suspending agent and stabilizer in pharmaceutical suspensions and emulsions, providing uniform dispersion of active ingredients and improving drug delivery and bioavailability.
- Biotechnology and Microbiology: Gellan gum is employed in biotechnology and microbiology laboratories for various applications such as microbial culture media, cell immobilization, and biopolymer production. It serves as a solidifying agent in agar substitute media for bacterial and yeast culture growth, enabling the formation of firm and uniform gels for cell culture and fermentation processes.
- Industrial Applications: Gellan gum finds use in various industrial applications such as oil drilling, textile printing, and water treatment. In the oil drilling industry, gellan gum is added to drilling fluids as a viscosifier and fluid loss control agent to enhance drilling efficiency and stability. In textile printing, it is used as a thickener and binder for pigment and dye dispersions to improve color retention and print quality. In water treatment, gellan gum is employed as a flocculant and coagulant aid for wastewater treatment and sludge dewatering processes.