Ice crystals structuring in water solutions containing different solutes

Abstract

There is a great demand for information about the cryopreservation of tropical fruits to reduce cell damage caused by ice crystals during freezing. The objective of this work was to study the structuring capacity of ice cristals. Water solutions having arabinose, glucose, pyridoxine, creatine, methionine, lysine and arginine were submitted to a slow freezing process and the resulting samples were examined under an optical microscope under polarized light. Sugars (arabinose and glucose) caused a range of structures, from hexagonal to tree-like configurations, among others. Water soluble vitamins and hydrophilic or hydrophobic compounds favored the formation of needles arranged in a circular-type manner.