Rotational and translational mobility of small molecules in sucrose plus polysaccharide solutions

Contribution of molecular pathways in the micellar solubilization of monodisperse emulsion droplets

It is often proposed that oil solubilization in anionic and nonionic micelles proceeds by different mechanisms, with diffusion of the oil molecule thought to control the former, and the latter interfacially controlled. In order to investigate this hypothesis, the effect of aqueous phase viscosity, salt, and surfactant concentration during the solubilization process was studied. The progressive decrease in average droplet size of nearly monodisperse emulsions during solubilization in SDS or Tween 20 micellar solutions was monitored by light scattering, and the change in turbidity was measured by UV-vis spectrophotometer. The solubilization rates were analyzed using a population balance approach to calculate the mass transfer coefficients. Increasing the aqueous viscosity by adding sucrose reduced the mass transfer coefficients of n-tetradecane and n-dodecane but had a smaller effect on n-hexadecane. The strong dependence of the solubilization rate for the shorter chain length alkanes on aqueous viscosity supported a mechanism in which the oil undergoes molecular diffusion before being taken up by micelles. The dependence of the solubilization kinetics on surfactant concentration appeared consistent with this mechanism but yielded a slower micellar uptake rate than previously predicted theoretically. As the solute chain length increased in nonionic surfactant solutions, an interfacial mechanism mediated by micelles appeared to contribute substantially to the overall rate. Addition of salt only slightly increased the solubilization rate of n-hexadecane in SDS solutions and, thus, indicated a weak role of electrostatic interactions for ionic surfactants on the overall mechanism.

Influence of ingredients on the self-diffusion of aroma compounds in a model fruit preparation: an nuclear magnetic resonance-diffusion-ordered spectroscopy investigation

Diffusion-ordered spectroscopy (DOSY)-pulsed field gradient (PGF) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to measure self-diffusion coefficients of aroma molecules in model fruit preparations. The impact of the sucrose content on aroma diffusion was specifically investigated, and the relationship with viscosity, water activity, and dry matter parameters was evidenced. DOSY-PGF NMR spectroscopy was found to be a relevant and accurate technique to follow self-diffusion of aroma compounds at low concentrations in a complex food matrix and to obtain information on diffusion of the sucrose and of the water molecules. We showed that aroma self-diffusion was strongly decreased in fruit preparation because of the high sucrose content, which induces the formation of a network through hydrogen bonds with water. Self-diffusion coefficients were determined for aroma molecules of different natures, and values are related to the physicochemical properties of the molecule.

Translational diffusion coefficients of volatile compounds in various aqueous solutions at low and subzero temperatures

Translational diffusion coefficients (D(12)) of volatile compounds were measured in model media with the profile concentration method. The influence of sample temperature (from 25 to -10 degrees C) was studied on translational diffusion in sucrose or maltodextrin solutions at various concentrations. Results show that diffusivity of volatile compounds in sucrose solutions is controlled by temperature, molecule size, and the viscosity of the liquid phase as expected with the Stokes-Einstein equation; moreover, physicochemical interactions between volatile compounds and the medium are determinant for diffusion estimation. At negative temperature, the winding path induced by an ice crystal content of >70% lowered volatile compound diffusion. On the contrary, no influence on translational diffusion coefficients was observed for lower ice content.

NMR signal analysis to attribute the components to the solid/liquid phases present in mixes and ice creams

The NMR relaxation signals from complex products such as ice cream are hard to interpret because of the multiexponential behavior of the relaxation signal and the difficulty of attributing the NMR relaxation components to specific molecule fractions. An attribution of the NMR relaxation parameters is proposed, however, based on an approach that combines quantitative analysis of the spin-spin and spin-lattice relaxation times and the signal intensities with characterization of the ice cream components. We have been able to show that NMR can be used to describe the crystallized and liquid phases separately. The first component of the spin-spin and spin-lattice relaxation describes the behavior of the protons of the crystallized fat in the mix. The amount of fat crystals can then be estimated. In the case of ice cream, only the spin-lattice relaxation signal from the crystallized fraction is relevant. However, it enables the ice protons and the protons of the crystallized fat to be distinguished. The spin-lattice relaxation time can be used to describe the mobility of the protons in the different crystallized phases and also to quantify the amount of ice crystals and fat crystals in the ice cream. The NMR relaxation of the liquid phase of the mix has a biexponential behavior. A first component is attributable to the liquid fraction of the fat and to the sugars, while a second component is attributable to the aqueous phase. Overall, the study shows that despite the complexity of the NMR signal from ice cream, a number of relevant parameters can be extracted to study the influence of the formulation and of the process stages on the ice fraction, the crystallized fat fraction, and the liquid aqueous fraction.

Ascorbic acid oxidation in sucrose aqueous model systems at subzero temperatures

The reduction of Tempol by ascorbic acid in concentrated sucrose solutions was measured by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) at temperatures ranging from 16 to -16 degrees C. This method allowed the determination of the rate constants (k) of this fast reaction, by recording the Tempol reduction as a function of time. The two reactants were initially separated and had to migrate for the reaction to occur. The experimental findings were compared with predicted values according to the equation for diffusion-controlled reaction proposed by Atkins. The experimental reaction rate constants were observed to be lower than the calculated ones. However, the experimental values were found to be controlled by the temperature and viscosity changes of the reaction media, as expected for a diffusion-controlled reaction.

Effect of temperature and glassy states on the molecular mobility of solutes in frozen tuna muscle as studied by electron spin resonance spectroscopy with spin probe detection

The mobility of solutes in frozen food systems (tuna muscle, sarcoplasmic protein fraction of tuna muscle, and carbohydrate-water) has been studied using the temperature dependence of the shape of electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra of the spin probe 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl (TEMPOL). The spin probe was incorporated into the tuna meat from an aqueous solution of TEMPOL or by contact with a layer of TEMPOL crystals. The melting/freezing of freeze-concentrated solutes in frozen tuna meat was observed to take place over a range of temperatures from -25 to -10 degrees C. Lower temperatures gave ESR powder spectra due to the decreased mobility of the spin probe, and the temperature dependence of the mobility of the spin probe did not show abrupt changes at the glass transition temperatures of the systems. The mobility of nonglass forming solutes is concluded to be decoupled from the glass forming components. Similar behavior was also observed for TEMPOL in frozen, aqueous carbohydrate systems. The temperature dependence of the mobility of TEMPOL in the frozen systems was analyzed using the Arrhenius equation, and the logarithm of the Arrhenius preexponential factor tau(a) was found to be linearly correlated with the activation energy for all of the tuna and carbohydrate samples, indicating a common molecular mechanism for the observed mobility of TEMPOL in all of the systems. The linear correlation also suggests that the observed mobility of TEMPOL in the frozen aqueous systems is dominated by enthalpy-entropy compensation effects, where the mobility of TEMPOL is thermodynamically strongly coupled to the closest surrounding molecules.

Flavor release from iota-carrageenan matrices: a kinetic approach

Release of aroma compounds in selected iota-carrageenan systems was studied by static headspace analysis. By varying the sodium chloride content, different rheological behaviors were obtained ranging from solution to gel. From the release curves, mass transfer (h(D)) and partition coefficients (K(ga)) of ethyl butanoate, ethyl hexanoate, and linalool were extracted using a mathematical model based on the penetration theory. This model, previously developed for flavor release from stirred solutions, was found to fit well the data obtained from structured systems (nonstirred conditions) at the beginning and at the end of the release curves: this allowed the determination of h(D) and K(ga). Matrix effects appeared to be dependent on the chemical class of the compounds. For the alcohol, the main effect on both equilibrium partitioning and mass transfer across the interface was ascribed to a salting effect. In the opposite, for esters, iota-carrageenan addition induced an increase of aroma retention and also a slower transfer across the interface. The respective effects of an increasing viscosity of the medium and of the formation of a tridimensionnal network are discussed.