APPLICATIONS OF DSC AND DTA:

DIFFERENTIAL SCANNING CALORIMETRY(DSC)

Used to study fat phase transitions and melting range. It
is one technique to explain the physical and textural properties of
fats in bulk and final products. The combination of DSC and XRD is
often used to identify the stable β-form.
Applications of DSC:
Analysis of Proteins
The formation of unique structures of biological macromolecules,
such as proteins and their specific complexes and the reactions are
thermodynamically driven.DSC which is considered one of the
most frequently used techniques to determine thermal stability of
proteins and to measure the thermodynamic parameters of thermal
protein unfolding.

DSC offers a variety of applications in the evaluation of factors,

which play the key role in protein stability.DSC, as a direct method,
can also provide information about the real thermodynamic
parameters of thermal transitions in proteins. As one of the great
advantages of DSC, it can detect fine-tuning of interactions
between the individual domains of a protein
DSC of Nucleic Acids
DSC monitors the excess Cp of a nucleic acid in solution, and the
temperature is increased or decreased with a constant
rate.Measuring the differential heat flow between the sample and a
reference accomplishes the excess Cp. When sample and
reference are scanned simultaneously, folding and unfolding
reactions occur in the nucleic acid as a consequence of absorbed
or released heat. This differential heat is gained with subtraction
from the reference thermal profile.Peaks obtained from types of
DSC thermograms represent folding transitions, and melting points
of the transition occur near the jump point of the curve.
Analysis of Lipids
DSC is a relatively fast analytical method for determination of
oxidative stability. The kinetic parameters obtained by DSC allow
the prediction of oxidative behavior of lipids at lower temperatures,
characteristic for the thermal conditions of food, fat storage, and
handling. As an “ideal method”, analytical signals of DSC can be
connected directly with chemical changes occurring in the oxidized
sample, without being misleading.
Analysis of Carbohydrates
Gelatinization-induces several changes in the starch granules, such
as swelling, amylose exudation, loss of order, improved solubility
and digestibility, granule disruption, and higher viscosity.DSC can
be used for investigation of starch gelatinization.
Analysis of mAb
mAb have offered promising potential application as drugs in the
pharmaceutical industry. They can be readily purified by
conventional purification approaches, i.e., using affinity columns.
The bound antibody is then eluted from the column at a low pH.
Previously, it has been confirmed that at the time of purification and
viral clearance, the acidic environment induces conformational
changes in antibodies, particularly in their Fc domain.

Hence, the importance of understanding such conformational

changes, together with stability and aggregation of antibodies at
different pH values, comes into the picture. Techniques such as
near- and far-UV circular dichroism spectroscopy and
sedimentation velocity can be used for this purpose. Using DSC,
they evaluated thermal stability of the native hIgG4-A and the
hIgG4-A samples at low pH.

DSC could give important information about the thermodynamic

characteristics of wild and disordered Igs to develop valuable
approaches to diagnosis and treatment of some autoimmune
diseases
.Uses in nano-science
Quantification of Pharmaceutical Nanosolids
Thermal Characteristics of Nanostructured Lipid Carriers (NLCs)
Thermo analysis of Colloidal Nanoparticles
Glass Transition Measurement of Macromolecules in Nanophases
Characterization of Ion-Chelating Nanocarriers
Self-Assembly Study of Supramolecular Nanostructures

Differential Thermal Analysis ( DTA )

A technique in which the difference in temperature between
the sample and a reference material is monitored against time or
temperature while the temperature of the sample, in a specified
atmosphere, is programmed.

Applications of DTA :
DTA curves for two substances are not identical . Hence they serve
as finger print for various substances . ( Quantitative analysis ) .
Used to study the characteristic of polymeric material .
This technique is used for testing the purity of drug sample & also to
test the quality control of various substances .
Used for the determination of heat of reaction , specific heat &
energy change which occurs during melting .
Trend in ligand stability ( thermal stability of ligands ) gives the
information about the ligands in the coordination sphere .
Impurities may be detected by the depression of the melting point .
A DTA curve can be used only as a fingerprint for identification
purposes but usually the applications of this method are the
determination of phase diagrams, heat change measurements and
decomposition in various atmospheres.
DTA is widely used in the pharmaceutical and food industries.
DTA may be used in cement chemistry,mineralogical research and
in environmental studies
DTA curves may also be used to date bone remains or to study
archaeological materials. Using DTA one can obtain liquidus &
solidus lines of phase diagrams.