Towey James J, Soper Alan K, Dougan Lorna
Faraday Discuss. 2013;167:159-76. doi: 10.1039/c3fd00084b.
Cryoprotectant molecules are widely utilised in basic molecular research through to industrial and biomedical applications. The molecular mechanisms by which cryoprotectants stabilise and protect molecules and cells, along with suppressing the formation of ice, are incompletely understood. To gain greater insight into these mechanisms, we have completed an experimental determination of the structure of aqueous glycerol. Our investigation combines neutron diffraction experiments with isotopic substitution and computational modelling to determine the atomistic level structure of the glycerol-water mixtures, across the complete concentration range at room temperature. We examine the local structure of the system focusing on water structure. By comparing our data with that from other studies of cryoprotectant solutions, we attempt to find general rules for the action of cryoprotectants on water structure. We also discuss how these molecular scale interactions may be related to the macroscopic properties of the system.
冷冻保护剂分子广泛应用于从基础分子研究到工业和生物医学应用等各个领域。冷冻保护剂稳定和保护分子及细胞并抑制冰形成的分子机制尚未完全明确。为了更深入了解这些机制，我们完成了对甘油水溶液结构的实验测定。我们的研究将中子衍射实验与同位素取代及计算建模相结合，以确定室温下整个浓度范围内甘油 - 水混合物的原子水平结构。我们聚焦于水结构来研究该系统的局部结构。通过将我们的数据与其他冷冻保护剂溶液研究的数据进行比较，我们试图找出冷冻保护剂对水结构作用的一般规律。我们还讨论了这些分子尺度的相互作用如何与系统的宏观性质相关。
