Freeze drying principle

It seems that freeze-drying is actually a technology that is not close to our lives. Actually, it is not. Many of our foods are processed using freeze-drying technology. For example, many of the dried fruits we often eat are processed using freeze-drying technology. So, why does freeze drying have such a drying effect? ​​Let’s take a look at the principle of freeze drying.

While conventional drying can cause the material to shrink and damage cells, during freeze-drying the sample's structure is not destroyed because the solid components are held in place by the solid ice. As the ice sublimates, it leaves pores in the dry remaining material. This preserves the integrity of the product's biological and chemical structure and its activity. In the laboratory, freeze drying has many different uses. It is indispensable in many biochemical and pharmaceutical applications. It is used to obtain biological materials that can be stored for a long time, such as microbial cultures, enzymes, blood and drugs. In addition to long-term storage stability, it also retains its inherent biological activity and structure. For this reason, freeze drying is used to prepare tissue samples for structural studies (such as electron microscopy). Freeze drying is also used in chemical analysis, where it can produce samples in a dry state or concentrate samples to increase chemical sensitivity. Freeze-drying stabilizes sample composition without changing the chemical composition, making it an ideal analytical aid.