Abstract :
The specific heat of isolated tomato fruit cuticles and their corresponding cutins have been measured by first time for the physiological temperature in the range of 0–55 °C. Variation of specific heat of the different isolates during fruit growth have been also measured. Isolated cuticles and cutin from young tomato fruits presented a clear glass transition temperature around 23 °C. Water sorption on cutin samples shifted the glass transition temperature to 16.3 °C indicating a clear plasticization of the biopolymer. The presence of these second-order transitions in these lipophilic plant material that act as a molecular barrier between the atmosphere and the plant cell, determine the mechanical and rheological properties of this biological barrier modulating the mass transfer between the environment ant the plant cell.
