Yongzheng Hu, Bao Zhang, Yajie Li, Huizhen Zou, Patchanee Yasurin
{"title":"Kinetic Analysis and Simulation of NaCl Diffusion in Fish: The Effects of Ultrasonic Power","authors":"Yongzheng Hu, Bao Zhang, Yajie Li, Huizhen Zou, Patchanee Yasurin","doi":"10.1007/s11483-025-10018-3","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Meat is typically cured with sodium chloride (NaCl) before cooking to enhance its flavor and quality. However, traditional curing methods are inefficient and cause inconsistent NaCl distribution. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effects of ultrasonic treatment on the curing efficiency of rainbow trout based on mass transfer kinetics, present a novel unidirectional model to explore the effects of ultrasonic power (0–300 W), and establish a simulation model to visualize mass transfer of NaCl during ultrasonic-assisted curing. Ultrasonic application effectively promoted NaCl transfer between the solution and fish, with a greater effect at higher ultrasonic power levels. Ultrasonic power significantly influenced the kinetic parameters k<sub>1</sub> and k<sub>2</sub> related to changes in total (<span>\\(\\:{\\varDelta\\:M}_{t}^{o}\\)</span>), water (<span>\\(\\:{\\varDelta\\:M}_{t}^{W}\\)</span>), and NaCl (<span>\\(\\:{\\varDelta\\:M}_{t}^{NaCl}\\)</span>) weights. The mass transfer driving force (k<sub>2)</sub> increased with increasing ultrasonic power, and the k<sub>2</sub> values for <span>\\(\\:{\\varDelta\\:M}_{t}^{o}\\)</span>, <span>\\(\\:{\\varDelta\\:M}_{t}^{W}\\)</span>, and <span>\\(\\:{\\varDelta\\:M}_{t}^{NaCl}\\)</span> peaked at 300 W. Ultrasound application significantly enhanced NaCl diffusion coefficient (D<sub>s</sub>), with peak enhancement at 300 W. The increased D<sub>s</sub> can be attributed to the cavitation and mechanical effects of the ultrasonic waves, facilitating NaCl diffusion into the fish. In conclusion, a visual model was developed to illustrate NaCl diffusion in fish during ultrasonic-assisted curing, providing a novel method for predicting NaCl diffusion in industrial processing.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":564,"journal":{"name":"Food Biophysics","volume":"20 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Food Biophysics","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11483-025-10018-3","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Meat is typically cured with sodium chloride (NaCl) before cooking to enhance its flavor and quality. However, traditional curing methods are inefficient and cause inconsistent NaCl distribution. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effects of ultrasonic treatment on the curing efficiency of rainbow trout based on mass transfer kinetics, present a novel unidirectional model to explore the effects of ultrasonic power (0–300 W), and establish a simulation model to visualize mass transfer of NaCl during ultrasonic-assisted curing. Ultrasonic application effectively promoted NaCl transfer between the solution and fish, with a greater effect at higher ultrasonic power levels. Ultrasonic power significantly influenced the kinetic parameters k1 and k2 related to changes in total (\(\:{\varDelta\:M}_{t}^{o}\)), water (\(\:{\varDelta\:M}_{t}^{W}\)), and NaCl (\(\:{\varDelta\:M}_{t}^{NaCl}\)) weights. The mass transfer driving force (k2) increased with increasing ultrasonic power, and the k2 values for \(\:{\varDelta\:M}_{t}^{o}\), \(\:{\varDelta\:M}_{t}^{W}\), and \(\:{\varDelta\:M}_{t}^{NaCl}\) peaked at 300 W. Ultrasound application significantly enhanced NaCl diffusion coefficient (Ds), with peak enhancement at 300 W. The increased Ds can be attributed to the cavitation and mechanical effects of the ultrasonic waves, facilitating NaCl diffusion into the fish. In conclusion, a visual model was developed to illustrate NaCl diffusion in fish during ultrasonic-assisted curing, providing a novel method for predicting NaCl diffusion in industrial processing.
期刊介绍:
Biophysical studies of foods and agricultural products involve research at the interface of chemistry, biology, and engineering, as well as the new interdisciplinary areas of materials science and nanotechnology. Such studies include but are certainly not limited to research in the following areas: the structure of food molecules, biopolymers, and biomaterials on the molecular, microscopic, and mesoscopic scales; the molecular basis of structure generation and maintenance in specific foods, feeds, food processing operations, and agricultural products; the mechanisms of microbial growth, death and antimicrobial action; structure/function relationships in food and agricultural biopolymers; novel biophysical techniques (spectroscopic, microscopic, thermal, rheological, etc.) for structural and dynamical characterization of food and agricultural materials and products; the properties of amorphous biomaterials and their influence on chemical reaction rate, microbial growth, or sensory properties; and molecular mechanisms of taste and smell.
A hallmark of such research is a dependence on various methods of instrumental analysis that provide information on the molecular level, on various physical and chemical theories used to understand the interrelations among biological molecules, and an attempt to relate macroscopic chemical and physical properties and biological functions to the molecular structure and microscopic organization of the biological material.