Residual moisture content and collapse of freeze-dried sugar matrix.

P. R. BONELLI; C. SCHEBOR; A. L. CUKIERMAN; P. BUERA; J. CHIRIFE

JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 1997 vol. 62 p. 693 - 695

0022-1147

Amorphous sugars were prepared by freeze-drying 20% (w/w) aqueous solutions of lactose, sucrose, trehalose and maltose. The dried samples were further dehydrated over P2O5 for 1 wk at 25, 35 or 45 C, and the residual moisture content was determined using oven drying or a thermogravimetric balance. Results indicated a small amount of residual moisture (usually 1?2%) which was not removed by the desiccation treatment for 1 wk at 25 C over P2O5. The dried samples, heated at a temperature near the published ??anhydrous?? glass transition temperatures (Tg) exhibited different behavior depending on whether they were heated in open or sealed vials. Structural collapse, a sharply visible shrinkage of the matrix, was found in all samples in sealed vials, while those samples in open vials did not collapse. Thus, removal of the last amount of residual moisture by heating in uncovered vials increased Tg, preventing or delaying collapse.