Resumen de Note: Use of a Distribution of Frequencies Model to Interpret the Tailed Heat Inactivation Curves of Prions
A. Martínez, Paula María Periago Bayonas, A. Fernández, J. Collado
Inactivation of prions responsible of bovine spongiform encephalytis (BSE) by heat is a major concern for the canned food industry in Europe. Experimental data of heat inactivation of prions obtained from the scientific literature have been modelled. Two models were applied to analyse the inactivation curves, the Weibull distribution model and a two-parameter empirical model. Statistical analysis of available data indicated that, the Weibull frequency distribution provided the best description of non-linear survival curves. The effect of the temperature on Weibull model parameters (a and b) was also studied. The shape parameter, b, indicates deviations from linearity in the inactivation curves, and the scale parameter, a, can be considered as a kinetic constant rate for the inactivation. The values of the b parameter were on the order of 0.15-0.2 which meant that these curves had a strong upper concavity. The a values obtained ... (A)
