Enthalpy of sorption by glassy polymers

Hydrogen bonding in glassy trehalose-water system: Insights from density functional theory and molecular dynamics simulations

We report a detailed density functional theory and molecular dynamics study of hydrogen bonding between trehalose and water, with a special emphasis on interactions in the amorphous solid state. For comparison, water-water interactions in water dimers and tetramers are evaluated using quantum calculations. The results show that the hydrogen bonding energy is dependent not only on the geometry (bond length and angle) but also on the local environment of the hydrogen bond. This is seen in quantum calculations of complexes in vacuum as well as in amorphous solid states with periodic boundary conditions. The temperature-induced glass transition in the trehalose-water system was studied using molecular dynamics simulations with varying cooling and heating rates. The obtained parameters of the glass transition are in good agreement with the experiments. Moreover, the dehydration of trehalose in the glassy state was investigated through a gradual dehydration with multiple small steps under isothermal conditions. From these simulations, the values of water sorption energy at different temperatures were obtained. The partial molar enthalpy of mixing of water value of -18 kJ/mol found in calorimetric experiments was accurately reproduced in these simulations. These findings are discussed in light of the hydrogen bonding data in the system. We conclude that the observed exothermic effect is due to different responses of liquid and glassy matrices to perturbations associated with the addition or removal of water molecules.

Modeling of composite sorption isotherm for stratum corneum

Equilibrium water sorption in stratum corneum (SC) is considered by treating it as a biocomposite with two main phases, namely, corneocytes and lipids. To validate the rule of mixtures for the individual phase sorption isotherms, a new flexible fitting model is introduced by accounting for characteristic features observed in the variations of the thermodynamic correction factors corresponding to the individual sorption isotherms. The comparison of the model fitting performance with that of the five-parameter Park's model shows a remarkably good ability to fit experimental data for different types of sorption isotherms. The effect of the lipids content on the variance of the composite sorption isotherm of stratum corneum is highlighted. The sensitivity analysis reveals that for the typical water content 20-30 wt%, which corresponds to the SC in a stable condition, the sensitivity of the composite sorption isotherm to the variation of the lipids content on dry basis is predominantly positive and sufficiently small. The good agreement observed between the experimental sorption isotherm for SC and the composite isotherm, which is based on the rule of mixtures for the individual phase sorption isotherms, yields a plausible conclusion (hypothesis) that the corneocytes-lipids mechanical interaction during unconstrained swelling of the SC membrane in the in vitro laboratory experiment is negligible.

Hydration enthalpies of amorphous sucrose, trehalose and maltodextrins and their relationship with heat capacities

The mechanisms of glass transitions and the behavior of small solute molecules in a glassy matrix are some of the most important topics of modern thermodynamics. Water plays an important role in the physical and chemical stability of lyophilized biologics formulations, in which glassy carbohydrates act as cryoprotectants and stabilizers. In this study, sorption calorimetry was used for simultaneous measurements of water activity and the enthalpy of water sorption by amorphous sucrose, trehalose and maltodextrins. Moreover, the heat capacity of these carbohydrates in mixtures with water was measured by DSC in a broad range of water contents. The hydration enthalpies of glassy sucrose, trehalose and maltodextrins are exothermic, and the enthalpy change of water-induced isothermal glass transitions is higher for small molecules. The partial molar enthalpy of mixing of water in slow experiments is about -18 kJ mol-1, but less exothermic in the case of small molecules at fast hydration scan rates. By measuring the heat capacities of disaccharides and maltodextrins as a function of water content, we separated the contributions of carbohydrates and water to the total heat capacities of the mixtures. The combination of these data allowed testing of thermodynamic models describing the hydration-induced glass transitions. The heat capacity changes calculated by the fitting of the hydration enthalpy data for disaccharides are in good agreement with the heat capacity data obtained by DSC, while for maltodextrins, the effect of sub-Tg transitions should be taken into account. Combining the data obtained by different techniques, we found a distinct difference in the behavior of water in glassy polymers compared to that in glassy disaccharides. By understanding the behavior of water in glassy carbohydrates, these results can be used to improve the design of freeze-dried formulations of proteins and probiotics.