Determination of Sorbic Acid Diffusivity in Edible Wheat Gluten and Lipid Based Films

Edible films using wheat gluten as the structural matrix with or without different lipid components and pure lipid films were tested for sorbic acid retention properties. A diffusion mechanism following Fick's first law was identified. An experimental procedure was developed for determining the diffusivity coefficient of sorbic acid in edible films immersed in an aqueous medium. The effect of film composition and temperature was investigated. The diffusion coefficient of sorbic acid in a gluten based film was 7.6 × 10 −12 m 2 /sec. The addition of a lipid component such as acetylated monoglyceride led to a 50% reduction in diffusivity. In a pure lipid film such as beeswax the diffusion coefficient of sorbic acid was 2.7 × 10 −16 m 2 /sec. The effect of temperature could be described by an Arrhenius type model, with activation energy ranging from 30.0 to 39.8 kJ/mole.