An integrated dynamic model for fungal spore inactivation by selective infrared heating

The effect of selective infrared radiation (IR) heating for the inactivation of fungal spores based on a dynamic temperature profile was explored by an integrated model that combined the thermal death kinetics with heat transfer during IR heating. Selective IR heating was found to differentially contribute to a higher degree of lethality compared to normal IR heating. Differential heating of fungal spores was validated by demonstrating that dry fungal spores were heated by up to 6°C higher than pure corn meal after 300 s of heating. An R ²-value greater than 0.98 was observed between the model-predicted and measured survival ratios. The denaturation of protein components in the selective IR range also contributed to an additional increase in the degree of lethality of fungal spores, compared to model prediction.