The glass transition temperature of mixtures of trehalose and hydroxyethyl starch.
Although mixtures of HES and sugars are used to preserve cells during freezing or drying, little is known about the glass transition of HES, or how mixtures of HES and sugars vitrify. These difficulties may be due to the polydispersity between HES samples or differences in preparation techniques, as well as problems in measuring the glass transition temperature (T(g)) using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). In this report, we examine the T(g) of mixtures of HES and trehalose sugar with <1% moisture content using DSC measurements. By extrapolating these measurements to pure HES using the Gordon-Taylor and Fox equations, we were able to estimate the T(g) of our HES sample at 44 degrees C. These results were additionally confirmed by using mixtures of glucose-HES which yielded a similar extrapolated T(g) value. Our approach to estimating the glass transition temperature of HES may be useful in other cases where glass transitions are not easily identified.
Chen
Tani
T
Center for Engineering in Medicine and Surgical Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Shriners Hospital for Children, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Bhowmick
Sankha
S
Sputtek
Andreas
A
Fowler
Alex
A
Toner
Mehmet
M
D002152:Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000379:methods; D003451:Cryoprotective Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D005947:Glucose / Q000737:chemistry; D006895:Hydroxyethyl Starch Derivatives / Q000737:chemistry*; D013816:Thermodynamics; D014199:Trehalose / Q000737:chemistry*
D003451:Cryoprotective Agents; D006895:Hydroxyethyl Starch Derivatives; D014199:Trehalose; D005947:Glucose