About Florence M Rollwagen Expertise I can answer questions in biology, microbiology and immunology on the undergraduate or graduate level. I can also address medical and health concerns regarding alternative medicine, autoimmune diseases (lupus, MS) liver disease and intestinal problems.
Experience I have over 20 years experience in research and teaching at the medical/graduate level, and 5 years teaching college biology and microbiology. My expertise is in microbiology and immunology, specifically the biology of cytokines and soluble immune response modifiers. I also carried out original research in blood substitutes and shock/trauma.
Organizations American Association of Immunologists (AAI)
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Publications Journal of Experimental Medicine, Journal of Immunology, Cytokine, Shock, Experimental Hematology
Education/Credentials BS biology 1966
MS biology 1968
PhD immunology 1979
Biology - lowering pressure during the drying process
Expert: Florence M Rollwagen - 6/18/2009
Question Hello Florence,
I would like to know if lowering pressure will decrease the boiling point of water , will this also mean that lowering pressure during the drying process of a certain viable thermolabile material like viruses or bacteria will cause the material to dry at a temperature lower than the normal drying temperature where no lowering of pressure occurs and so will help to improve preserving the activity of the material after drying (if the material is to be used for vaccine preparation or the like) and if there are links or references could you please list them for me??
Thank you so much for your time,
Irene
Answer Hi Irene: Thanks for your questions.
Yes, lowering the pressure will decrease the boiling point of water. People who live at high elevations (mountains) cannot get the temperature of water to 100C (212F) because the water boils at a lower temperature. This makes cooking and baking a problem.
The process called lyophilization (freeze-drying) has been used to preserve bacteria, viruses (even coffee) for many years. Here are links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeze_drying
