Phase behavior of oppositely charged ovalbumin-DOTAC and BSA-DOTAC, and similarly charged ovalbumin-SDS, BSA-SDS, lysozyme-DOTAC, and BLG-SDS systems within the concentration range of 20 wt% of both protein and surfactant are examined in water. Aqueous solutions of ovalbumin yield, in succession, precipitation, gel, and solution with increased addition of the surfactant dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride (DOTAC). The stability range of each region is determined. Both isotropic and anisotropic gels are detected. Solutions of bovine serum albumin (BSA) form only a solution phase with oppositely charged DOTAC. One solution phase is also obtained with all similarly charged protein-surfactant systems except the BLG-SDS-water system, which produces a gel phase in addition to a large solution phase. (2)H NMR longitudinal (R(1)) and transverse (R(2)) relaxation rates are determined in solution and gel by following the behavior of selectively deuterated surfactant at the alpha-methylene group next to the surfactant head group for the oppositely charged systems ovalbumin-DOTAC and BSA-DOTAC. Large R(2)-values proved the existence of large protein-surfactant aggregates in both systems. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.