Effect of different dextrose equivalent of maltodextrin on the interactions with anionic surfactant in an isothermal titration calorimetry study

Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) was used to study interactions between an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS) and maltodextrins with different dextrose equivalents (DE) in a buffer solution (pH 7.0, 10 mM NaCl, 20 mM Trizma, 30.0 degrees C). The interaction between SDS and maltodextrin was exothermic, which was attributed to incorporation of the hydrocarbon tail of the surfactant into a helical coil formed by the maltodextrin molecules. ITC measurements indicated that the number of SDS molecules bound per gram of maltodextrin increased with decreasing maltodextrin DE, i.e., increasing molecular weight. It was proposed that SDS only binds to maltodextrin molecules that have a DE greater than 10 glucose units.