Cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) were used to improve the electrospinnability of the gelatin protein in a water/ethanol/acetic acid (3:2:3, v/v) solution. The effects of different concentrations of CNFs (0.5–4%) on the important physical properties of the gelatin solution (15%), including rheology, conductivity, and surface tension, were investigated. The apparent viscosity and shear-thinning behavior were increased by increasing the CNF concentration from 0 to 4% at a low shear rate (<10 s⁻¹). CNFs also increased the electrical conductivity and surface tension of the gelatin solution. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images revealed uniformly ordered structures with good continuity without fracture or bead formation in all hybrid nanofibers. They also showed that the average diameters of fibers decreased from 216 nm in the pure gelatin nanofibers to 175.39 nm in the hybrid gelatin/CNF (4%) ones. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results showed that CNFs increased T_g, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that the electrospinning process caused the formation of more amorphous structures in the gelatin/CNF hybrid nanofibers. The tensile test indicated that by adding 2% CNFs, the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and strain at break (SB) of nanofiber mats increased from 4.26 to 10.5 MPa and 3.3% to 6.25%, respectively. The current study indicated that incorporating CNFs at the optimal concentration into a gelatin solution can improve the resulting hybrid nanofibers’ morphology, average diameter, and mechanical properties.

Effects of freezing assisted with magnetic fields (MFs) in a Cell Alive System (CAS)\ud commercial unit at –50 ºC, with a static MF only (0% CAS) and with a static MF plus\ud oscillating MF (10% CAS) on egg white (W) was investigated. W samples were from\ud commercial eggs from three strains of laying hens (two of them living in fortified\ud cages and the third one in liberty at outdoor). The main goal was to follow the protein\ud thermal denaturation involved in W processing. Thermal denaturation enthalpy was\ud markedly affected (~50% total protein in comparison with fresh sample) but similar\ud for both MFs processes, where 0% CAS was taken as Control freezing treatment.\ud MFs effects were predominantly thermal in nature and constituted the factor with the\ud highest influence on thermal behavior, as well as on the majority of the functional\ud properties exhibited by MFs samples. Rheology and free Sulfhydryl content were\ud studied complementarily to Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) data. Some\ud important functional properties as Foaming parameters and Texture of W gel were\ud also determined. The hen strains-feeding factor did not practically influence the\ud physical or functional behaviors of both untreated and processed W samples.Spanish MINECO, Iranian Ministry of Science.Peer reviewe