ARS | Publication request: MULTIPLE-PARTICLE TRACKING STUDY OF THE MICROHETEROGENEITY OF NUTRIM-10 SUSPENSIONS

Submitted to: American Association of Cereal Chemists Meetings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: September 14, 2005
Publication Date: September 14, 2005
Citation: Xu, J., Chang, T., Tseng, Y., Inglett, G.E., Wirtz, D. 2005. Multiple-particle tracking study of the microheterogeneity of nutrim-10 suspensions [abstract]. American Association of Cereal Chemists Meetings. Paper No. 247.

Technical Abstract: Nutrim is a newly developed food product containing the dietary soluble fiber beta-glucan. The microstructural heterogeneities of Nutrim-10 suspensions were investigated by monitoring the thermally driven displacements of well-dispersed microspheres via video fluorescence microscopy. By comparing the distribution of the time-dependent mean-square displacement (MSD) of polystyrene microspheres embedded in three concentrations of Nutrim-10 suspensions, we found that the degree of heterogeneity of the suspensions increased dramatically within a narrow range of Nutrim-10 concentrations. The ensemble-average MSD of 5.5% Nutrim-10 suspension exhibited a power-law behavior which scaled linearly with time. This behavior was similar to that of homogeneous aqueous glycerol solution, but the MSD distribution was wider and more asymmetric than glycerol. Increasing the Nutrim-10 concentration rendered the MSD distribution much more asymmetric and skewed. These results suggest that the heterogeneities of Nutrim-10 are highly dependent on its concentrations, which might be related to beta-glucan.