Beyond Water: Waterlike Functions of Other Biological Compounds in a Waterless System

摘要

This chapter focuses on the possible increased biochemical reactions in absence of water because of the presence of other polar solvents that can solubilize reactant molecules and increase their molecular mobility. Some of these solvents can be polyols. Until lately, the leading concept to describe the stability of food systems has been the water-activity theory, and lately some relationships have been found between the stability and glass transition temperature of the biological system. This chapter highlights that we need to move further from the water activity–related reaction-rate theory because a physicochemical reaction can occur in the absence of water if the nonwater liquid component can dissolve the solid components in the mixture at a given temperature. The current glass transition temperature theory has also not been able to describe the Maillard reaction occurring in waterless complex systems. Some past and present findings in the context of biological (mainly food) materials are presented in this chapter. The Maillard reaction occurring in the absence of water has been used as an example.