Effects of moisture content and porosity on the thermal conductivity and volumetric specific heat capacity of pharmaceutical powders.

Thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity are two important parameters for the drying process of pharmaceutical materials during methods such as wet granulation that can be observed in the overall tablet manufacturing process. In this study, a transient line heat source method was used for the first time to determine the thermal conductivity and volumetric specific heat capacity of common pharmaceutical components and binary mixtures, with moisture content ranging from 0 % to 30 % w.b and active ingredient loading between 0 % and 50 % by weight. A three-parameter least squares regression model relating the thermal properties to moisture content and porosity was evaluated at a 95 % confidence interval, with R2 values ranging from 0.832 to 0.997. Relationships were established between thermal conductivity, volumetric specific heat capacity, porosity, and moisture content for pharmaceutical ingredients including acetaminophen, microcrystalline cellulose, and lactose monohydrate.

Factors influencing bactericidal efficacy using atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) against Escherichia coli in wheat flour.

This study aimed to evaluate operating factors that influence the bactericidal efficacy of atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) using wheat flour contaminated with Escherichia coli. It also investigated how non-optimized operating factors of ACP could affect wheat flour properties. Five operating factors (container volume, flour weight, shaking RPM, treatment time, and gas flow rate) were evaluated for the bactericidal effect of ACP using the Box-Behnken design. In addition, thermal and pasting properties were measured to assess the effect of non-optimized ACP operating conditions on wheat flour quality. ACP operating factors (volume of the container, shaking RPM, and treatment time) had significant effects on reducing E. coli in wheat flour (p < 0.05). The bactericidal effect also depended on the distance and contact area between the plasma jet and sample. The temperature at the flour surface increased (max. 70 ℃) when ACP treatment didn't provide sufficient space and optimized duration. Thermal, pasting, and gelling properties of ACP treated-wheat flour in a 10 mL container increased significantly compared to untreated wheat flour. Large amounts of samples, long processing time, and insufficient space contributed to overheating which leads to denaturation or change of the wheat flour properties. The present study proposed important data for industrial sterilization of wheat flour using ACP.

Postharvest Operations of Cannabis and Their Effect on Cannabinoid Content: A Review.

In recent years, cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) has been legalized by many countries for production, processing, and use considering its tremendous medical and industrial applications. Cannabis contains more than a hundred biomolecules (cannabinoids) which have the potentiality to cure different chronic diseases. After harvesting, cannabis undergoes different postharvest operations including drying, curing, storage, etc. Presently, the cannabis industry relies on different traditional postharvest operations, which may result in an inconsistent quality of products. In this review, we aimed to describe the biosynthesis process of major cannabinoids, postharvest operations used by the cannabis industry, and the consequences of postharvest operations on the cannabinoid profile. As drying is the most important post-harvest operation of cannabis, the attributes associated with drying (water activity, equilibrium moisture content, sorption isotherms, etc.) and the significance of novel pre-treatments (microwave heating, cold plasma, ultrasound, pulse electric, irradiation, etc.) for improvement of the process are thoroughly discussed. Additionally, other operations, such as trimming, curing, packaging and storage, are discussed, and the effect of the different postharvest operations on the cannabinoid yield is summarized. A critical investigation of the factors involved in each postharvest operation is indeed key for obtaining quality products and for the sustainable development of the cannabis industry.

Optimization of Atmospheric Cold Plasma Treatment with Different Gases for Reduction of Escherichia coli in Wheat Flour.

In this study we aimed to derive the response surface models for Escherichia coli reduction in wheat flour using atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) with three types of gas. The jet-type atmospheric cold plasma wand system was used with a 30 W power supply, and three gases (argon, air, and nitrogen) were applied as the treatment gas. The operating parameters for process optimization considered were wheat flour mass (g), treatment time (min), and gas flow rate (L/min). The wheat flour samples were artificially contaminated with E. coli at a concentration of 9.25 ± 0.74 log CFU/g. ACP treatments with argon, air, and nitrogen resulted in 2.66, 4.21, and 5.55 log CFU/g reduction of E. coli, respectively, in wheat flour under optimized conditions. The optimized conditions to reduce E. coli were 0.5 g of the flour mass, 15 min of treatment time, and 0.20 L/min of nitrogen gas flow rate, and the predicted highest reduction level from modeling was 5.63 log CFU/g.

Loss factor and moisture diffusivity property estimation of lentil crop during microwave processing.

Characterization of loss factor and moisture diffusivity are required to understand materials' precise behavior during microwave processing. However, providing the processing facilities to measure these properties in a real or simulated situation directly can be complicated or unachievable. Hence, this study proposes an alternative procedure for modeling these properties according to their affecting factors including temperature, and moisture content. The basis of this method is to use an algorithm that combines the optimization approach and the numerical solution of the heat and mass transfer governing equations, including boundary conditions. For this aim, the coefficients of estimated models for loss factor and moisture diffusivity were obtained by minimizing the sum square error of the experimentally measured mean surface temperature and moisture content and the predicted values by solving the system of partial differential equations. The suggested models illustrated that during the microwave process, the moisture diffusivity grows arithmetically, and the loss factor generally raises, but transition points were observed in the trend for the samples tempered up to the 50% moisture content. These points have been attributed to the starch gelatinization and confirm how the bio-chemical reaction would have a noticeable effect on this property, determining the microwave energy absorbance. The results of differential scanning calorimetry thermograms and the Fourier transform mid-infrared spectra of flours obtained from microwave processed lentil seeds also confirmed the greatest intensity of starch structure alteration happened for the samples tempered to 50% moisture content by showing the highest shifts in the endothermic peak and lowest degree of order.

Evaluation of radio-frequency heating in controlling Salmonella enterica in raw shelled almonds.

This study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of radio-frequency (RF) heating to reduce Salmonella enterica serovars Enteritidis, Typhimurium, and Senftenberg in raw shelled almonds compared to conventional convective heating, and the effect of RF heating on quality by measuring changes in the color and degree of lipid oxidation. Agar-grown cells of three pathogens were inoculated onto the surface or inside of raw shelled almonds using surface inoculation or the vacuum perfusion method, respectively, and subjected to RF or conventional heating. RF heating for 40s achieved 3.7-, 6.0-, and 5.6-log reductions in surface-inoculated S. Enteritidis, S. Typhimurium, and S. Senftenberg, respectively, whereas the reduction of these pathogens following convective heating for 600s was 1.7, 2.5, and 3.7 log, respectively. RF heating reduced internally inoculated pathogens to below the detection limit (0.7 logCFU/g) after 30s. However, conventional convective heating did not attain comparable reductions even at the end of treatment (600s). Color values, peroxide values, and acid values of RF-treated (40-s treatment) almonds were not significantly (P>0.05) different from those of nontreated samples. These results suggest that RF heating can be applied to control internalized pathogens as well as surface-adhering pathogens in raw almonds without affecting product quality.

Pretreatments for the efficient extraction of bioactive compounds from plant-based biomaterials.

The extraction of medicinal or functional compounds from herbal plants is an important unit operation in food and bio-industries. The target compounds are generally present inter- or intra-cellularly in an intricate microstructure formed by cells, intercellular spaces, capillaries, and pores. The major resistance of molecular diffusion in materials of plant origin always comes from the intact cell walls and adhering membranes. Therefore, increasing the permeability of cell walls and membranes plays a very important role to increase extraction yield and/or extraction rate. Important pretreatment methods to modify the cellular structures and increase the permeability of cell walls or membranes are discussed in this paper. They include physical, biologic, and chemical treatments. In physical methods, mechanical disruption, high-pressure (HP) process, pulsed electric field (PEF) application, ultrasonic treatment, and freeze-thaw, and so on were applied. In biologic methods, different cell wall-degrading enzymes were applied to break-down cell walls or membranes and to diminish the overall internal resistance for transporting bioactive compounds from internal matrix to the external solution. In chemical methods, various chemicals for increasing the inner- or outer-membrane permeabilization were introduced. The principles of the technologies, examples of improvements, and advantages and disadvantages of the pretreatment methods are critically reviewed in this paper.

Application of ultrasound as pretreatment for extraction of podophyllotoxin from rhizomes of Podophyllum peltatum.

The effect of high-power ultrasound pretreatment on the extraction of podophyllotoxin from Podophyllum peltatum was investigated. Direct sonication by an ultrasound probe horn was applied at 24 kHz and a number of factors were investigated: particle size (0.18-0.6 mm), type of solvent (0-100% aqueous ethanol), ultrasonic treatment time (2-40 min), and power of ultrasound (0-100% power intensity, maximum power: 78 W). The optimal condition of ultrasound was achieved with 0.425-0.6 mm particle size, 10 min sonication time, 35 W ultrasound power, and water as the medium. There was no obvious degradation of podophyllotoxin with ultrasound under the applied conditions, and an improvement in extractability was observed. The SEM microscopic structure change of treated samples disclosed the effect of ultrasound on the tissue cells. The increased pore volume and surface area after ultrasonic treatment also confirmed the positive effect of ultrasound pretreatment on the extraction yield of podophyllotoxin from the plant cells.

Kinetics of quality changes during food frying.

This paper deals with kinetics of quality changes during food frying. The quality parameters of interests include color, texture, viscoelastic properties, volume/density, and nutraceuticals (Omega 3 fatty acids). The kinetic theory and determination methodology under isothermal/non-isothermal conditions are also reviewed. This paper presents the reported reaction rate constant, order of reaction, and activation energy for specific quality changes including phenomenological observations and important speculations. The changes of color, textural, and viscoelastic properties generally followed a first order reaction. In some studies, activation energy analysis could have been improved by applying corresponding system temperatures for the quality change reactions of interest. The kinetic information on volume/density changes and thermal degradation of nutraceutical is still limited to experimental observations of the changes.