Literature Review: Supplemented Phase Diagram of the Trehalose–Water Binary Mixture

Abstract

Trehalose is of great interest in many fields, including freeze-drying, cryoprotection, and anhydrobiosis. Although data for the trehalose–water supplemented phase diagram have previously appeared in the literature, the data have been widely scattered and reported in several units. In this study, literature data for the binary trehalose–water system were collected and analyzed. The literature data were found to be reasonably consistent, with substantial agreement on the melting points for water, trehalose, and trehalose dihydrate and the glass transition temperature of water. There was also good agreement for the solubility, freezing, and glass transition curves. However, there was no general agreement on the glass transition temperature of pure trehalose. Additionally, the trehalose–water glass transition curve was modeled using the Gordon–Taylor equation, with a value for k of 5.2. The collected data in this report will be of much use in further studies of the protective abilities of trehalose.