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A physicochemical model for the death‐rate of a micro‐organism
Author(s) -
WARREN D. S.
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
international journal of food science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.831
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1365-2621
pISSN - 0950-5423
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2621.1973.tb01713.x
Subject(s) - organism , ionic bonding , reaction rate constant , ionic strength , chemistry , kinetics , thermodynamics , biology , physics , organic chemistry , ion , quantum mechanics , aqueous solution , paleontology
Summary Application of chemical kinetics, and, in particular, the theory of absolute reaction rates to thermal death‐rates of micro‐organisms enables the effects of various environmental factors to be predicted and defined. Most compounds having a modifying effect on the normal thermal death process probably exert their influence via alteration of the dielectric constant or ionic strength of the medium. The effect of pH may be described by postulating two differently charged forms of the micro‐organism having different death‐rates. Application of this model to data for Clostridium thermosaccharolyticum and Cl. botulinum reveals that the variation in death‐rate with pH and temperature, within the pH range 2.5–7, may be described using five or six parameters only. Systematic experimentation based on the principles described could provide insight into the mechanism of thermal death of micro‐organisms.