Ice crystal growth of living onion epidermal cells as affected by freezing rates

International Journal of Food Properties

Yanan Wang¹  Huaiwen Wang²  Duohua Xu²  Zhe Zhang² 

[1]Deakin University

[2]Tianjin University of Commerce

关键词: Crystallization process;    Freezing rates;    Onion cells;    Plasmolysis;    TSF;   

DOI  :  10.1080/10942912.2018.1439506

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The entire crystallization process and the effect of freezing rates on the temperature of spontaneous freezing (TSF) of living onion epidermal cells were analysed in this study. The cells, stained with iodine at a concentration of 1%, were frozen at three different freezing rates, i.e. 2, 1.2, and 0.5°C/min, and were thawed at 5°C/min. The higher freezing rate caused a higher TSF. Moreover, this article presents a method for determining whether a cell is inactivated by a plasmolysis experiment. The results of plasmolysis showed that the formation of ice crystals did not cause fatal mechanical damages to the cells, even when the freezing rate was as slow as 0.1°C/min. Finally, this article also demonstrated the grey-scale changes that occurred in the cells, as evidenced by an image processing technique. This further highlighted the ice crystal growth process and showed the ice crystal content at different locations inside the cells.

【 授权许可】

Unknown