Micro jelly made of gelatin (hereinafter referred to as micro gel) is widely used in daily necessities such as foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.However, it is said that the mechanical properties that strongly control the functions such as tactile sensation, texture, and strength are difficult to measure due to their small size, and detailed analysis has been sought after.

　In this study, we succeeded in measuring the hardness of microgels by making 100/1 mm scale microgels using a cell-like template and pulling them using a very thin microcapillary.When gelatin gels, it is confined in a micrometer-sized space covered with a lipid film, so that the hardness after gelation increases about 10 times compared to a normal large gel. I found it.

　When the molecular structure of this microgel was investigated, it was found that not only the triple helix structure made by ordinary gelatin but also the structure in which units called β-sheet structure were connected was formed at the same time, and this structural change made the gel harder. It became clear that there was.

　The knowledge gained from this discovery gives a new perspective to the design of functional materials that utilize the hardness of gels, and is expected to be applied to the creation of microgel materials that will be used in foods, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics in the future. NS.In addition, the microgel also functions as a skeleton that supports cells, and this result is expected to contribute to the elucidation of the characteristics of intracellular biopolymer gels.

Paper information:[ACS Central Science] Increasing elasticity through changes in the secondary structure of gelatin by gelation in a microsized lipid space