Redistribution of Water and Gelatin between Contacting Liquid Phases According to the IR Spectroscopy Data: The Role of Lecithin

The spontaneous redistribution of components between two contacting liquid phases, an aqueous gelatin solution and a micellar lecithin solution in a hydrocarbon (heptane), is studied by infrared spectroscopy at various phospholipid concentrations and contact times of the liquid phases. It is noted that lecithin plays the key role in the transfer of the water and gelatin molecules from the aqueous phase to heptane. The transfer of these components of the aqueous phase through the interface resulted from their inclusion into phospholipid reverse micelles via hydrogen bonding. Phosphate and carbonyl groups of lecithin make the largest contribution to the formation of hydrogen bonds. The time of the establishment of the equilibrium component distribution between the two liquid phases is determined.