Calorimetric study of water in muscle tissue.

Differential scanning calorimetry has been used to investigate the state of water in intact single muscle fibers of the giant barnacle, Balanus nubilus. The shapes of the melting curves suggest the presence of three types of water: unfrozen (or bound), free (or bulk) and intermediate water. The amount of unfrozen water per g protein was constant within experimental error. An increase in water content changed almost exclusively the amounts of free water. The amount of intermediate water varies only slightly with the fiber water content.