Yeast intracellular water determination by thermogravimetry

The intracellular water content of a microorganism is an important parameter which is a determinant factor of its physiological properties. It is usually measured by complex and time consuming procedures. Thermogravimetry using infrared balance has been used for this purpose, through the identification of different drying steps occurring during the analysis. This work employs the same method with much smaller samples, using conventional thermogravimetric equipment in a simpler and faster way than other conventional procedures. Commercial yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) washed samples are analyzed in isothermal procedures which are run in about 30 min. The drying rate curve, when plotted as a function of the residual mass of the cells, allows the identification of the step where the intracellular water is lost and the determination of its content. The obtained values, on extracellular water free basis, are in the range of 65 to 69% and agree with those measured by other techniques.