Cereal Chem 69:13-17   |  VIEW ARTICLE

Determination of Water Distribution and Mobility Inside Maize Kernels During Steeping Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

R. Ruan and J. B. Litchfield. Copyright 1992 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Differences in water content and mobility in various components of corn kernels during steeping were mreasured by magnetic resonance imaging. The proton density and T1 images (water distribution and mobility mapping) were obtained with a spatial resolution of 100 micrometer. The outside steepwater signal was well suppressed and the inside structure of the corn kernel was revealed clearly with proton density (rho), spinlattice relaxation (T1), and apparent spin-spin relaxation (T2*) images. The technique enabled clear definition of the principal tissues in corn kernels and provided quantitative information concerning differences in water distribution and mobility.