Measurement of trehalose dihydrate by microscope heating method

Recently, trehalose (a-D-glucopyranosyl-a-D-glucopyranoside), one of disaccharides, has attracted attention as a sugar which protect biologic molecule under dry condition. Some insects and plants become asphyxiated temporarily by drying, which could resurge by obtaining water. It is considered that trehalose is deeply related to this resurgence. Moreover, trehalose has been widely applied as additives for moisturizer in cosmetics and dry foods. However, the mechanism of bio-protecting functions by trehalose has not yet been known. To study the mechanism of bio-protecting functions, bound water in trehalose was measured using a heated FTIR microscope.