Pawkit
Theory
43
Typically water activity is measured at atmospheric
pressure, so only the osmotic and matric effects are
important.
Osmotic effects
Osmotic effects are well known from biology and
physical chemistry. Water is diluted when a solute is
added. If this diluted water is separated from pure
water by a semi-permeable membrane, water tends
to move form the pure water side through the mem-
brane to the side with the added solute. If sufficient
pressure is applied to the solute-water mixture to
just stop the flow, this pressure is a measure of the
osmotic potential of the solution. Addition of one
mole of an ideal solute to a kilogram of water pro-
duces an osmotic pressure of 22.4 atm. This lowers
the water activity of the solution from 1.0 to 0.98
a
w
.
For a given amount of solute, increasing the water
content of the systems dilutes the solute, decreasing
the osmotic pressure, and increasing the water
activity. Since microbial cells are high concentra-
tions of solute surrounded by semi-permeable
membranes, the osmotic effect on the free energy of
the water is important for determining microbial
water relations and therefore their activity.
Matric effects
The sample matrix affects
a
w
by physically binding
water within its structure through adhesive and
Содержание Pawkit
Страница 1: ...Portable Water Activity Measurement System Operator s Manual Ver 1 3 ...
Страница 50: ...Pawkit Theory 46 tion to microbial growth chemical reactivity and stability over water content has been shown ...
Страница 62: ...Pawkit Declaration of Conformity 58 ...
Страница 69: ...Pawkit Index 65 relation to water activity 42 wet samples cautions with 23 ...