Structural and Dynamical Properties of Water in Sugar Mixtures

Trehalose, a bioprotective sugar, has very important applications in different industrial fields, such as food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. Trehalose can be used as a new multi-functional ingredient with considerable potential for the industry. The characterization of molecular mechanisms underlying the manifold functions of trehalose is very important for the understanding and exploitation of the potentialities of the disaccharide. This work deals with experimental findings obtained by light and neutron scattering on structural and dynamical properties of trehalose, maltose and sucrose water solutions. The results provide an explanation about the bioprotective effectiveness of trehalose which is capable to strongly interact with water molecules forming a protective shell preserving biostructures under stress conditions.