Elastic anomaly and glass transition in dehydrated egg white gel

Evolution of the complex elastic stiffness of dehydrated heat-treated egg white gel (DHTEWG) was measured with increasing temperature, from -30 to +170°C, at the rate of 8°C/min. In the measurement, the real component of the complex elastic stiffness decreased markedly and the imaginary component showed a broad peak around the temperature where a thermal anomaly had been observed (T_g; 50°C); furthermore, the elastic loss tangent showed a sharp peak at higher temperatures. Because these characteristics are usually observed in noncrystalline polymers around the glass transition temperature, the occurrence of glass transition in DHTEWG around T_g was confirmed.