Thermal analysis,state transitions and food quality

Thermal properties of food systems are important in understanding relationships between food properties and changes in food quality. Concentrated food systems (low-moisture and frozen foods) are seldom in an equilibrium state and they tend to form amorphous, non-crystalline structures. Several glass transition-related changes in such foods affect stability, e.g., stickiness and caking of powders, crispness of snack foods and breakfast cereals, crystallisation of amorphous sugars, recrystallisation of gelatinised starch, ice formation and recrystallisation in frozen foods and rates of non-enzymatic browning and enzymatic reactions. Relationships between glass transition, water plasticisation and relaxation times can be shown in state diagrams. State diagrams are useful as stability or quality maps and in the control of rates of changes in food processing and storage.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Synthesis and electrochemical properties of Zn3V3O8 as novel anode material

Zn₃V₃O₈ two-dimensional micro sheets are successfully synthesized by combination of solvothermal method and heat treatment. The Zn₃V₃O₈ has better electrochemical performances after calcinations.     

Do proficiency tests always verify laboratories’ performance? The case of FAPAS PT 0270

In this paper, the case of FAPAS PT 0270 “Doramectin and Oxfendazole in Sheep Liver” is discussed. During evaluation of the data received from participants (determination of total, oxidised oxfendazole residue and calculation of the sum of oxfendazole and oxfendazole sulfone residues), significant differences were observed between the results obtained by use of two analytical approaches. This phenomenon can be explained by the route of oxfendazole metabolism, which results in the presence of fenbendazole in the sample. This was not predicted by the provider; consequently, not all the necessary tests on the material were conducted. Due to the high uncertainty of the z-scores in this test, the results of the PT cannot be used for purposes of evaluation, and the benefits of participation in PT 0270 are questionable.     

固体超强酸SO_4~(2-)/SiO_2-TiO_2催化合成异维生素C钠

在异维生素C钠(D-VcNa)的合成过程中,以SO42-/S iO2-TiO2复合固体超强酸作为酯化反应催化剂,2-酮基-D-葡萄糖酸(2-KGA)和甲醇为原料,采用精馏脱水酯化工艺,不断除去酯化过程中产生的水。催化剂的最佳焙烧温度为550℃,催化剂用量为2.5%;反应时间3~4 h,产品收率为88.6%,催化剂的重复使用性较好,催化体系优于硫酸法。     

功能高分子活性材料硫酸根离子选择电极的研制

利用辐射方法制备硫酸根离子选择电极活性材料,至今未见报导,我们首次采用辐射接枝方法制备了以疏水性高分子为骨架的带有SO~-活性基团的功能高分子活性材料,研制了硫酸根离子选择电极。结果表明,该电极具有内阻低,响应快,稳定性较好的特点,且其功能曲线的线性范围为10~(-1)～10~(-4)MSO_4~-,适宜的pH范围为4～9。     

Atomistic Modeling of Silica Based Sol-Gel Processes

Density Functional Theory is used to study water, methanol, ethanol, TMOS, and TEOS molecules and the most important silica clusters participating in sol-gel processes. Calculated bond lengths, bond angles and electric dipole moments compare well with experimental data. The energy of these molecules is reported and used to discuss the energetics of the hydrolysis and condensation reactions. Molecular Dynamics is employed to simulate liquid water, methanol, ethanol, TMOS, TEOS and experimental sol-gel solutions. Calculated densities and enthalpies of vaporisation compare well with experimental data. Preliminary results are presented for MD simulations of sol-gel solutions.     

Application of differential scanning calorimetry in food research and food quality assurance

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is the most widely used thermal analytical technique in food research and it has a great utility in quality assurance of food. Proteins are the most studied food components by thermal analysis including studies on conformation changes of food proteins as affected by various environmental factors, thermal denaturation of tissue proteins, food enzymes and enzyme preparations for the food industry, as well as effects of various additives on their thermal properties. Freezing-induced denaturation of food proteins and the effect of cryoprotectants are also monitored by DSC. Polymer characterization based on DSC of polysaccharides, gelatinization behaviour of starches and interaction of starch with other food components can be determined, and phase transitions during baking processes can be studied by DSC. Studies on crystallization and melting behaviour of fats observed by DSC indicate changes in lipid composition or help characterizing products. Thermal oxidative decomposition of edible oils examined by DSC can be used for predicting oil stability. Using DSC in the freezing range has a great potential for measuring and modelling frozen food thermal properties, and to estimate the state of water in foods and food ingredients. Research in food microbiology utilizes DSC in better understanding thermoadaptive mechanisms or heat killing of food-borne microorganisms. Isothermic microcalorimetric techniques provide informative data regarding microbial growth and microbial metabolism.     

SiHCl3-H2气相外延生长Si单晶反应机理的理论研究

采用密度泛函理论计算方法, 在B3LYP/6-311G*水平下, 计算并得到了SiHCl3与H2反应各反应通道上各驻点的构型、振动频率和能量. 结果表明, 在气相中SiHCl3分解的通道d和SiHCl3与H2反应的通道c为竞争反应, 但其均未还原出Si原子, 只有衬底Si参与SiHCl3-H2的反应, Si原子才淀积在Si衬底上.     

Simultaneous screening and determination eight phthalates in plastic products for food use by sonication-assisted extraction/GC-MS methods

Studies on determination of eight kinds of phthalates, e.g. di-ethyl phthalate (DEP), di-propyl phthalate (DPP), di-isobutyl phthalate (DIBP), di-butyl phthalate (DBP), benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), di-cyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP), di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), di-octyl phthalate (DOP), in 25 kinds of plastic products for food use, including packaging bags, packaging film, containers, boxes for microwave oven use, sucking tubes, spoons, cups, plates, etc. by gas chromatography in combination with mass spectrometry detector (GC-MS) in electronic ionisation mode (EI) with selected-ion monitoring (SIM) acquisition method (GC-MS (EI-SIM)) have been carried out. Methods have been developed for both qualitative and quantitative analysis of phthalates. Extraction, clean-up and analysis procedure have been optimized. Determination of samples were performed after frozen in liquid nitrogen and sonication-assisted extraction with hexane, clean-up with LC-C18 SPE and analyzed by GC-MS methods. The base peak (m/z = 149) of all the phthalates was selected for the screening studies. The characteristic ions, 121, 177, 222 for DEP; 191, 209 for DPP; 57, 223 for DIBP; 104 for DBP; 91, 132, 206 for BBP; 55, 167 for DCHP; 113, 167, 279 for DEHP; 279 for DOP were chosen for quantitative studies. These techniques are possible to detect phthalates at the level of 10.0 μg/kg. Overall recoveries were 82-106% with R.S.D. values at 3.8-10.2%. Only one of the 25 examined samples was free from phthalates. The rest 24 samples were found to contain at least three or more of these phthalates. The predominant phthalate detected in the studied samples was DEHP.     

铈离子引发N-对甲苯基丙烯酰胺类聚合物膜上丙烯酰胺接枝共聚合的研究

合成了NTAAM,NTMAAM,NPMAAM功能单体,发现这类功能单体与铈离子组成的体系能引发丙烯酰胺聚合,带有这类功能单体的聚合物和共聚物铸成的膜,能用铈离子引发丙烯酰胺接枝共聚合。这可从反应后的膜比基膜有较大的吸水率、与水有较小的接触角,也可从扫描电子显微镜观察到表面上有凸起图象的高分子链,以及从膜表面的X射线光电子能谱所证实。同时研究了共聚物膜的组成、反应条件对接枝共聚合的影响。