Water mobility in the dehydration of crystalline trehalose

As water/trehalose structures seem to gain more biological relevance in anhydrobiosis, the intriguing mechanism of bioprotection may involve water channels in the crystalline dihydrate trehalose. This work aims at understanding the water state(s) in the bioprotectant sugar and its removal under “controlled conditions”. The results of some simple calorimetric experiments are presented to corroborate the above findings and to support the role of molecular nanostructures of trehalose possessing the ability to transform reversibly from the dihydrate. In addition to updating some of our previously results, new calorimetric data and MD analysis are provided for the peculiar transitions of TRE-h and for the energetics of water molecules flowing along the TRE-h channels.