Inspissation

Inspissation is the process of increasing the viscosity of a fluid, or even of causing it to solidify, typically by dehydration or otherwise reducing its content of solvents. The term also has been applied to coagulation by heating of some substances such as albumens, or cooling some such as solutions of gelatin or agar. Some forms of inspissation may be reversed by re-introducing solvent, such as by adding water to molasses or gum arabic; in other forms, its resistance to flow may include cross-linking or mutual adhesion of its component particles or molecules, in ways that prevent their dissolving again, such as in the irreversible setting or gelling of some kinds of rubber latex, egg-white, adhesives, or coagulation of blood.[1]

  1. ^ Ronald M. Atlas, James W. Snyder, Handbook of Media for Clinical Microbiology, CRC Press, 19 May 1995. ISBN 0-8493-9497-X