Recent advances in the fundamental theories in cryobiology using thermodynamic principles have created new opportunities for innovative methodologies in cryobiology. This thesis tested the hypothesis that calculated indicators of the two-factor hypothesis of cryoinjury, depending on cellular osmotic properties, will describe outcomes of cryobiological experiments. In addition, this thesis demonstrated that knowledge gained from improved descriptions of cellular osmotic parameters allows better understanding of cryoinjury and cryoprotection. The main objective of this thesis was to develop approaches using simulations that can be applied to development of cryopreservation procedures for cell types of interest for therapies. In order for this approach to be successful, a method to more accurately describe the osmotic solution properties of the cell (i.e. osmolality as a function of molality for the cytoplasm) was developed. Also, in-depth examination into the correlation between predictions of the two types of cryoinjury and measured post-thaw biological outcomes was required. The work presented in this thesis has shown that simulations, based on cell-specific osmotic characteristics, and coupled with interrupted cooling procedures can be used to determine conditions that minimize the two identified damaging factors in cryopreservation. Based on results from this research, both intracellular supercooling and osmolality, as indicators of intracellular ice formation and solution effects injury, respectively, should be calculated when attempting to compare simulations with biological experimentation. This thesis has also shown a novel method of obtaining the solution properties (i.e. osmolality as a function of molality) of the cytoplasm of living cells using equilibrium cell volume measurements. Using these newly calculated parameters, this research also demonstrated the magnitude of error introduced by making dilute solution assumptions of the solution properties in cellular responses to low temperatures, including simulations of interrupted freezing procedures. Overall, the research work presented in this thesis has extended the approach to cryopreservation to include the properties of the cell and the physical conditions of the freezing environment, which was only possible through the linkage between biological experimentation and simulations.

No description available.

No description available.

Borrelia burgdorferi is an elongated and helically shaped bacterium that is the causal agent of the tick-borne illness Lyme disease. The disease manifests with initial flu-like symptoms and, in many cases, the appearance of a skin rash called erythema migrans at the site of the tick bite. If left untreated the disease might cause impairment of various organs such as the skin, heart, joints and the nervous system. The bacteria have a parasitic lifestyle and are always present within a host. Hosts are usually ticks or different animals and birds that serve as reservoirs for infection. B. burgdorferi are unable to synthesize building blocks for many vital cellular processes and are therefore highly dependent on their surroundings to obtain nutrients. Because of this, porins situated in the outer membrane, involved in nutrient uptake, are believed to be very important for B. burgdorferi. Except for a role in nutrient acquisition, porins can also have a function in binding extracellular matrix proteins, such as integrins, and have also been implicated in bacterial adaptation to new environments with variations in osmotic pressure. P13 and P66 are two integral outer membrane proteins in B. burgdorferi previously shown to have porin activities. In addition to its porin function, P66 also has integrin binding activity. In this thesis, oligomeric structures formed by the P13 and P66 protein complexes were studied using the Black lipid bilayer technique in combination with nonelectrolytes. Initial attempts were also made to study the structure of P13 in Nanodiscs, whereby membrane proteins can insert into artificial lipid bilayers in their native state and the structure can be analyzed by electron microscopy. In addition, the role of P13 and P66 in B. burgdorferi osmotic stress adaptation was examined and also the importance and role of the integrin-binding activity of P66 in B. burgdorferi infections in mice. Using Black lipid bilayer studies, the pore forming activity of P13 was shown to be much smaller than previously thought, exhibiting activity at 0.6 nS. The complex formed by P13 was approximately 300 kDa and solely composed of P13 monomers. The channel size was calculated to be roughly 1.4 nm. Initial Nanodisc experiments showed a pore size of 1.3 nm, confirming the pore size determined by Black lipid bilayer experiments. P66 form pores with a single channel conductance of 11 nS and a channel size of 1.9 nm. The porin assembles in the outer membrane into a large protein complex of 420 kDa, containing exclusively P66 monomers. The integrin-binding function of P66 was found to be important for efficient bacterial dissemination in the murine host but was not essential for B. burgdorferi infectivity. Neither P13 nor P66 had an active role in osmotic stress adaptation. Instead, two p13 paralogs were up-regulated at the transcript level in B. burgdorferi cultured under glycerol-induced osmotic stress. / Borrelia burgdorferi är en bakterie med många unika egenskaper som orsakar sjukdomen Lyme borrelios. Borrelia kan idag lätt behandlas med antibiotika om sjukdomen upptäcks i ett tidigt stadium. Det är först om sjukdomen tillåts fortgå som symptom som nervsmärta och ansiktsförlamning kan uppstå och dessutom vara svåra att koppla till en Borrelia-infektion. Multiresistenta bakterier har blivit en stor del av vår vardag och även om Borrelia-bakterierna idag inte är resistenta mot flertalet antibiotika är det kanske speciellt viktigt, innan det är för sent, med forskning som kan leda till upptäckter av unika angreppsställen för nya läkemedel. Målet med denna avhandling var att studera hur två Borrelia proteiner, P13 och P66, ser ut, är uppbyggda och även vilken funktion de har. Dessa proteiner är tänkbara vaccinkandidater eftersom de sitter i yttre membranet hos bakterierna och sticker ut på ytan mot våra värdceller, vilket gör att vi reagerar mot dem vid en infektion. P13 och P66 är också viktiga kanaler för bakterierna vid upptag av näringsämnen och byggstenar från omgivningen. Ämnen som bakterierna inte kan producera själva. Pga. denna funktion är P13 och P66 tänkbara proteiner för blockering med ett läkemedel som skulle förhindra bakterien från att föröka sig i och med att de förlorar möjligheten att tillgodogöra sig näring. Detta i sin tur skulle leda till att vårt eget immunförsvar hinner rensa undan bakterierna innan infektionen blivit för stor och vi blivit sjuka. P66 har förutom porin funktionen även en adhesions funktion när proteinet kan binda integriner som sitter på olika typer av celler i vår kropp, bl. a. immunceller och epitelceller i våra blodkärl och vävnader. Den integrin bindande funktionen är viktig för bakterierna vid en infektion eftersom det gör det möjligt för bakterierna att binda till våra celler. Ett steg som är viktigt för att de senare ska kunna ta sig ut från blodkärlen till våra vävnader. P13 och P66 visade sig kunna bilda stora proteinkomplex i ytter membranet hos bakterierna med en storlek på 300 kDa respektive 420 kDa. De är inga specifika poriner som bara kan transportera en viss typ av molekyl med t.ex. en viss laddning, utan kan ombesörja upptaget av många olika typer av ämnen. Eliminering av p66 orsakade att ett annat adhesionsprotein, uppreglerades. En omplacering av ett normalt cytoplasmatiskt lokaliserat chaperon-protein till ytter-membranet hos bakterierna kunde också ses i frånvaro av P66. Chaperonet GroEL har i andra bakterier, bl. a. Helicobacter pylori, bakterien som orsakar magsår, beskrivits som ett protein som kan förflytta sig till ytan av bakterierna och där ha en liknande funktion som P66, dvs. att binda extracellulära matrisprotein. Förändringen i uttryck av adhesionsproteinet och förflyttningen av chaperonet till membranet var en följd av p66-eliminering och mest troligt ett sätt för bakterierna att komplettera den förlorade integrinbindande funktionen av P66. Det har tidigare visats att poriner är involverade i skyddet mot osmotisk stress i andra bakterier. Denna funktion hos P13 och P66 i Borrelia kunde inte ses när bakterier utsattes för osmotisk stress med glycerol, som orsakar en form av membranstress. Däremot kunde vi med hjälp av transkriptomanalys se att Borrelia-bakterier uppreglerade transkriptionen av två paraloger till P13 vid hyper-osmotisk stress. Borrelia bakteriens användning av dessa paraloga proteiner har tidigare trotts ske enbart i frånvaro av ett funktionellt P13 protein. Nu visade det sig att P13-paraloger har en egen funktion även i närvaro av P13, nämligen att vara involverade i regleringen av hyperosmotisk stress och därmed skydda bakterierna i denna stressituation. Andra gener som påverkades av osmotisk stress med glycerol var gener för stressfaktorer och pumpar i inre membranet hos bakterien.

Osmosis is a phenomenon of critical importance in a variety of processes ranging from the transport of ions across cell membranes and the regulation of blood salt levels by the kidneys to the desalination of water and the production of clean energy using potential osmotic power plants. However, despite its importance and over one hundred years of study, there is an ongoing confusion concerning the nature of the microscopic dynamics of the solvent particles in their transfer across the membrane. In this thesis the microscopic dynamical processes underlying osmotic pressure and concentration gradients are investigated using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. I first present a new derivation for the local pressure that can be used for determining osmotic pressure gradients. Using this result, the steady-state osmotic pressure is studied in a minimal model for an osmotic system and the steady-state density gradients are explained using a simple mechanistic hopping model for the solvent particles. The simulation setup is then modified, allowing us to explore the timescales involved in the relaxation dynamics of the system in the period preceding the steady state. Further consideration is also given to the relative roles of diffusive and non-diffusive solvent transport in this period. Finally, in a novel modi cation to the classic osmosis experiment, the solute particles are driven out-of-equilibrium by the input of energy. The effect of this modi cation on the osmotic pressure and the osmotic ow is studied and we find that active solute particles can cause reverse osmosis to occur. The possibility of defining a new "osmotic effective temperature" is also considered and compared to the results of diffusive and kinetic temperatures.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 107-121).

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Grape must gives rise to various stress conditions for the yeast inoculated for alcoholic fermentation. These include hyperosmotic stress due to the high initial sugar concentration and redox imbalances due to the fast depletion of oxygen. Under these stress conditions, Saccharomyces cerevisiae tends to produce glycerol as an osmoprotectant and to regenerate reducing equivalents. However, the production of glycerol often leads to increased acetic acid production. According to literature, it seems that many non-Saccharomyces yeasts have a different metabolic response to the above-mentioned stress conditions, especially since it has been found that they produce low levels of acetic acid. Only recently non-Saccharomyces yeasts were researched to be used as starter cultures in wine fermentations. It is found that they can confer beneficial characteristics to the resulting wine. However, most of the non-Saccharomyces yeasts lead to stuck fermentations as confirmed by this study. Therefore, if the positive characteristics of these yeasts were to be exploited in wine making they need to be inoculated together with S. cerevisiae. When two yeasts are inoculated together, they affect each other and consequently the wine. In this context, the aim of this study was to investigate the metabolic response to hyperosmotic stress during wine fermentation of the following wine-related non-Saccharomyces yeasts: Lachancea thermotolerans, Torulaspora delbrueckii and Starmerella bacillaris. Fermentations were performed in a synthetic grape must medium with pure cultures of the mentioned strains as well as mixed cultures of each non-Saccharomyces yeast with S. cerevisiae. The fermentation behaviour was monitored and concentrations of various wine-related metabolites were determined. Concerning polyol concentrations, S. cerevisiae produced only glycerol while the non-Saccharomyces yeasts also produced other polyols. The low production of acetic acid in the non-Saccharomyces fermentations was confirmed especially in the case of L. thermotolerans. Moreover, this yeast produced high levels of the higher alcohols butanol and propanol. St. bacillaris produced significant levels of acetoin and isobutyric acid and T. delbrueckii produced an increased concentration of succinic acid. All these metabolites might play a role in maintaining intracellular redox balance. However, a more extensive systematic study is needed to investigate the extent of their involvement. The mixed cultures completed fermentation and had higher final glycerol levels than the control and lower acetic acid concentrations and therefore can contribute positively to the wine aroma. Furthermore, the mixed culture fermentations showed the potential of lowering the ethanol concentrations of wine. Furthermore it has been shown in literature that the yeasts present in the mixed culture can affect each other on gene expression level as well. However, there is little genetic information available on non-Saccharomyces yeasts. In this study, we sequenced the genes involved in glycerol and acetic acid biosynthesis of L. thermotolerans and T. delbrueckii. The gene sequences are fairly homologous with only a few differences. These gene sequences can be used to study gene expression of GPD1 and ALD6 from fermentation samples in order to determine to what extent the yeasts in a mixed culture influence the gene expression of one another. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Druiwemos gee oorsprong aan verskeie strestoestande vir die gis wat vir alkoholiese fermentasie geïnokuleer word. Hierdie strestoestande sluit hiper-osmotiese stres, as gevolg van die hoë suiker konsentrasie, in asook redoks wanbalanse toegeskryf aan die vinnige afname in beskikbare suurstof. Tydens hierdie toestande is Saccharomyces cerevisiae geneig om gliserol as beskerming teen die osmotiese stres te produseer, sowel as vir die regenereering van reduserings ekwivalente. Die produksie van gliserol lei egter dikwels tot toenemende asynsuur produksie. Volgens literatuur kom dit voor asof menige nie-Saccharomyces giste 'n ander metabolise reaksie tot die bogenoemde stresse het, omdat daar gevind is dat hulle laer vlakke van asynsuur produseer. Eers onlangs is navorsing gedoen op die potensiële gebruik van nie-Saccharomyces giste in gemengde kulture tydens wynfermentasies. Daar is bevind dat hulle voordelige eienskappe aan die wyn kan verleen. Meeste van die nie-Saccharomyces giste lei egter tot onvolledige fermentasies soos bevesting deur hierdie studie. Dus, indien die positiewe eienskappe van hierdie giste sou benut word in wynmaak sal hulle saam met S. cerevisiae geïnokuleer moet word. Wanneer twee giste saam geïnokuleer word, beïnvloed hulle mekaar en gevolglik die wyn. In hierdie konteks was die doel van die betrokke studie om die metaboliese reaksie tot hiperosmotiese stress tydens wynfermentasies te ondersoek in die volgende wyn verwante nie-Saccharomyces giste: Lachancea thermotolerans, Torulaspora delbrueckii en Starmerella bacillaris. Fermentasies was in sintetiese druiwemos medium uitgevoer met rein kulture van die genoemde gisrasse, sowel as gemengde kulture van elke nie-Saccharomyces gis met S. cerevisiae. Die fermentasiegedarg is gemonitor en die konsentrasies van verskeie wyn verwante metaboliete is bepaal. Wat die poliol konsentrasies betref, het S. cerevisiae slegs gliserol geproduseer terwyl die nie-Saccharomyces giste additionele poliole ook geproduseer het. Die lae produksie van asynsuur in die nie-Saccharomyces fermentasies is bevestig, veral in die geval van L. thermotolerans. Verder produseer hierdie gis hoë vlakke van asetoïen en iso-bottersuur en T. delbrueckii produseer 'n hoër konsentrasie van suksiensuur. Al hierdie metaboliete mag 'n rol speel in die handhawing van intrasellulêre redoksbalans. 'n Meer uitgebreide, sistematiese studie is egter nodig om die mate van hul betrokkenheid te ondersoek. Die gemengde kulture het hul fermentasies voltooi en het hoër finale gliserol vlakke as die kontrole gehad, asook laer asynsuur konsentrasies en kan dus positief bydra tot die wyn aroma. Verder het die gemengde kultuur fermentasies die potensiaal om die etanol vlakke van wyn te verlaag, getoon. Daar is verder in die literatuur gevind dat die giste teenwoordig in die gemengde kultuur mekaar op geenuitdrukkings vlak ook kan beïnvloed. Daar is egter min genetiese inligting beskikbaar vir die nie-Saccharomyces giste. In hierdie studie het ons die gene betrokke by die produksie van gliserol en asynsuur van L. thermotolerans en T. delbrueckii se nukleotied volgordes bepaal. Die gevolglike nukleotied volgordes is redelik homoloog met net 'n paar verskille. Hierdie volgordes kan gebruik word om die geenuitdrukking van GPD1 en ALD6 vanaf fermentasie monsters te bestudeer om sodoende te bepaal tot watter mate die giste in 'n gemengde kultuur mekaar se geenuitdukking kan beïnvloed.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2006-12-24Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:54:08Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 destro_mvp_me_jabo.pdf: 321192 bytes, checksum: 2127c8e5aa73fa30f3aecc082ca22f9f (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Fundação para o Desenvolvimento da UNESP (FUNDUNESP) / No presente trabalho foi verificado o efeito do estresse salino associado a aplicacao exogena de espermidina (Spd) nos teores de glicina betaina da parte aerea de genotipos de guandu, IAC Fava Larga e Caqui, visando: (a) a utilizacao da glicina betaina como marcador bioquimico-fisiologico da salinidade; (b) verificar se a aplicacao exogena de Spd atenua os efeitos do estresse salino e (c) avaliar o crescimento inicial do guandu sob estresse salino. O experimento foi conduzido em sala de crescimento, com irradiancia de 190 Êmol m-2 s-1, fotoperiodo de 12 horas, temperatura de 25C e U.R. de 40%. A semeadura foi realizada em areia esteril, com adequado suprimento hidrico. Apos 10 dias, as plantulas foram transferidas para solucao nutritiva durante 20 dias para aclimatacao. A seguir, as plantulas foram alocadas nos tratamentos, sendo utilizado o delineamento experimental em blocos casualizados em esquema fatorial 2x2x4 com os fatores genotipos (IAC Fava Larga e Caqui), Spd (0,0 e 0,5 mM) e estresse salino (0, 20, 60 e 80 mM de NaCl). Apos 20 dias sob estresse, foram determinados o crescimento inicial e os teores de glicina betaina da parte aerea de ambos genotipos. Os resultados evidenciaram que, a glicina betaina pode ser indicada como um marcador bioquimico-fisiologico do estresse salino somente para eIAC Fava Larga. O estresse salino provocou reducao do crescimento inicial da parte aerea dos genotipos de guandu, IAC Fava Larga e Caqui. A aplicacao exogena de Spd nao atenuou os efeitos do estresse salino no crescimento, mas induziu o acumulo de glicina betaina no genotipo IAC Fava Larga sob menores niveis de NaCl. / In this work was undertaken to evaluate the effect of salt stress associated to exogenous spermidine (Spd) application on the level of glycine betaine in shoots of pigeonpea, genotypes IAC Fava Larga and Caqui (a) propose the use of this compatible osmolyte as a biochemical-physiological indicator of salinity; (b) to verify if the application exogenous of spermidine decreased the effects of salt stress and (c) to evaluate the initial growth of pigeonpea under salt stress. The experiment was carried in a grow room with irradiance of 190 Êmol m-2 s-1, photoperiod of 12 hours, with the temperature set to 25oC and the RH to 40%. Seeds were showed in sterile sand with adequate water supply. After ten days, seedlings were transferred to nutritive solution for twenty days for acclimation. The experiment was then arranged in randomized block design in a 2x2x4 factorial, corresponding to the genotypes (IAC Fava Larga and Caqui), Spd rates (control and 0.5 mM) and salt stress (0, 20, 60 and 80 mM NaCl). After 20 days under stress, was verified the effect of these treatments in the initial growth and determined the content of glycine betaine. The results showed that glycine betaine can be used as a biochemical-physiological marker of salt stress in IAC Fava Larga. The salt stress reduced initial growth of the both genotypes, IAC Fava Larga and Caqui. Exogenous Spd application did not attenuate the effects of salt stress on initial growth, but induced glycine betaine accumulation only in IAC Fava Larga under low NaCl levels.

Orientador: Durvalina Maria Mathias dos Santos / Banca: João Suzuki / Banca: Sonia Cristina Juliano Gualtieri de Andrade Perez / Resumo: No presente trabalho foi verificado o efeito do estresse salino associado a aplicacao exogena de espermidina (Spd) nos teores de glicina betaina da parte aerea de genotipos de guandu, IAC Fava Larga e Caqui, visando: (a) a utilizacao da glicina betaina como marcador bioquimico-fisiologico da salinidade; (b) verificar se a aplicacao exogena de Spd atenua os efeitos do estresse salino e (c) avaliar o crescimento inicial do guandu sob estresse salino. O experimento foi conduzido em sala de crescimento, com irradiancia de 190 Êmol m-2 s-1, fotoperiodo de 12 horas, temperatura de 25C e U.R. de 40%. A semeadura foi realizada em areia esteril, com adequado suprimento hidrico. Apos 10 dias, as plantulas foram transferidas para solucao nutritiva durante 20 dias para aclimatacao. A seguir, as plantulas foram alocadas nos tratamentos, sendo utilizado o delineamento experimental em blocos casualizados em esquema fatorial 2x2x4 com os fatores genotipos (IAC Fava Larga e Caqui), Spd (0,0 e 0,5 mM) e estresse salino (0, 20, 60 e 80 mM de NaCl). Apos 20 dias sob estresse, foram determinados o crescimento inicial e os teores de glicina betaina da parte aerea de ambos genotipos. Os resultados evidenciaram que, a glicina betaina pode ser indicada como um marcador bioquimico-fisiologico do estresse salino somente para eIAC Fava Larga. O estresse salino provocou reducao do crescimento inicial da parte aerea dos genotipos de guandu, IAC Fava Larga e Caqui. A aplicacao exogena de Spd nao atenuou os efeitos do estresse salino no crescimento, mas induziu o acumulo de glicina betaina no genotipo IAC Fava Larga sob menores niveis de NaCl. / Abstract: In this work was undertaken to evaluate the effect of salt stress associated to exogenous spermidine (Spd) application on the level of glycine betaine in shoots of pigeonpea, genotypes IAC Fava Larga and Caqui (a) propose the use of this compatible osmolyte as a biochemical-physiological indicator of salinity; (b) to verify if the application exogenous of spermidine decreased the effects of salt stress and (c) to evaluate the initial growth of pigeonpea under salt stress. The experiment was carried in a grow room with irradiance of 190 Êmol m-2 s-1, photoperiod of 12 hours, with the temperature set to 25oC and the RH to 40%. Seeds were showed in sterile sand with adequate water supply. After ten days, seedlings were transferred to nutritive solution for twenty days for acclimation. The experiment was then arranged in randomized block design in a 2x2x4 factorial, corresponding to the genotypes (IAC Fava Larga and Caqui), Spd rates (control and 0.5 mM) and salt stress (0, 20, 60 and 80 mM NaCl). After 20 days under stress, was verified the effect of these treatments in the initial growth and determined the content of glycine betaine. The results showed that glycine betaine can be used as a biochemical-physiological marker of salt stress in IAC Fava Larga. The salt stress reduced initial growth of the both genotypes, IAC Fava Larga and Caqui. Exogenous Spd application did not attenuate the effects of salt stress on initial growth, but induced glycine betaine accumulation only in IAC Fava Larga under low NaCl levels. / Mestre

Orientador: Florencia Cecilia Menegalli / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-10T02:57:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Sousa_Severinade_D.pdf: 3233199 bytes, checksum: c69375c3baa9b4be2e41470f3792f663 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: O processo de desidratação osmótica figos (Fícus carica, L.) em soluções de sacarose foi investigado com base em um planejamento experimental completo e metodologia de superfície de resposta (RSM). As variáveis independentes foram a concentração de sacarose, variando de 35,9 a 64,1% p/p e a temperatura da solução desidratante de 32,9 a 47,0ºC, a fim de avaliar a cinética da perda de umidade, da incorporação de açúcares e da atividade de água durante o processo. As condições ótimas de desidratação osmótica que geraram dois tipos de produtos, ou seja, figos com maior conteúdo de açúcares e figos com menor conteúdo de açúcares, ambos com menor atividade de água e menor conteúdo de umidade, foram encontradas respectivamente, na temperatura de 39,7ºC e concentração de 63,1% p/p de sacarose, e temperatura de 35,3ºC e concentração de sacarose de 64,1% p/p. A cinética de incorporação de ácido ascórbico foi estudada durante o processo de desidratação osmótica a 44ºC e 36% p/p de concentração da solução, com adição de ácido ascórbico de 100 e 200mg/100g de solução, obtendo-se coeficientes de difusão para a incorporação da vitamina através do modelo difusional de Fick. A avaliação da degradação de vitamina C durante subseqüente secagem mostrou que as perdas de vitamina C podem ser compensadas através de sua incorporação à fruta durante o processo de desidratação osmótica. As isotermas de sorção e a cinética da secagem convectiva foram determinadas às diferentes temperaturas (40, 50, 60 e 70ºC). Para o ajuste dos dados de secagem foram utilizados o modelo difusional de Fick, o modelo de Page e o modelo exponencial com dois termos. Durante a secagem observou-se que a difusividade não foi constante durante todo o período, considerando-se três difusividades distintas ao longo da curva de secagem. As amostras in natura apresentaram maiores coeficientes de difusão de umidade que as amostras desidratadas osmoticamente com sacarose. O tempo de secagem foi reduzido com o processo de desidratação osmótica em todas as temperaturas, especialmente para obtenção da fruta em umidades intermediárias / Abstract: A full experimental design and response surface methodology (RSM) were used to study osmotic dehydration process of figs (Ficus carica, L.) in sucrose solutions. The independent variables were: the sucrose concentration, varying from 35,9 to 64,1% w/w and the solution temperature, varying from 32,9 to 47,0ºC, in order to study the kinetic of water loss, sugars incorporation and water activity during the process. The optimized conditions in osmotic dehydration to obtain two kinds of products: figs with higher content of sugars and figs with lower content of sugars, both of them with lower water activity and water content, had been found respectively, at 39,7ºC and 63,1% w/w and 35,3ºC and 64,1% w/w of temperature and sucrose concentration. The kinetic of ascorbic acid incorporation was studied during osmotic dehydration process at 44ºC, using a solution of 36% of sucrose concentration with an addition of 100 or 200mg of ascorbic acid /100g of solution. The diffusion coefficients for the vitamin incorporation were obtained fitting data with the Fick¿s second law of diffusion. The evaluation of vitamin C degradation during the subsequent drying process showed that the losses of vitamin C can be compensated with the addition of this vitamin in the fruit during osmotic dehydration process. The sorption isotherms and the kinetic of the convective drying were determined at different temperatures (40, 50, 60 and 70ºC). The drying data was fitted with Fick¿s second law of diffusion, the Page model and the Exponential model with two terms. During the drying was observed that the diffusivity was not constant during all period, therefore, were considered three different diffusivities along of the drying curves. The fresh samples had presented higher water diffusion coefficients compared with the samples osmotically dehydrated with sucrose. The drying time was reduced with the use of osmotic dehydration as pretreatment for the several temperatures, especially when the intermediate moisture of fruit was obtained / Doutorado / Doutor em Engenharia de Alimentos