Tailing of thermal inactivation curve of Aspergillus niger spores.

The nonlinear thermal inactivation of Aspergillus niger spores in phosphate-citrate buffer was studied. The thermal inactivation pattern of the spore consisted of a shoulder, an accelerated decline, and a tail at various constant temperatures around 60 degrees C. The pattern fitted a thermotolerant subpopulation model. In the model, we postulated that some spores in the initial population had become thermotolerant at a certain ratio during heating. The model parameters including the rate coefficients, the time lag, and the existence ratio of thermotolerant cells were analyzed at various temperatures. The tailing was not observed at an initial concentration below 10(3) cells per ml. Cells cultured from thermotolerant cells showed an inactivation pattern similar to that of the original cells. Also, cells at the second heating showed the same thermotolerance as or were slightly more thermosensitive than the original cells. Intermittent heating was found to be effective to inactivate cells at a high concentration.