Structural and vibrational characterization of anhydrous and dihydrated species of trehalose based on the FTIR and FTRaman spectra and DFT calculations

Abstract

In this study, three anhydrous species of trehalose and their dihydrated form were studied using the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy combined with theoretical calculations derived from the theory of the functional of the density (DFT). Here, the structural and vibrational properties were predicted using the hybrid B3LYP/6-31G∗ method. The complete vibrational assignments were performed using the scaled mechanical force fields (SQMFF) methodology and their internal normal coordinates. The natural bond orbital (NBO) and atoms in molecules (AIM) calculations predicted high stabilities for the dihydrated species in gas and aqueous solution phases. The little variation observed in the dipole moment for the dihydrated species in solution could be related to a small perturbation of water hydration shell and short hydrogen bonds, as revealed by NBO and AIM studies. The lower volume expansion, low solvation energy and the higher nucleophilicity index observed for trehalose species in solution, in relation to maltose and sucrose could probably explain that different water molecules are around of trehalose/water mixtures generating higher “rigidity” in trehalose, as was experimentally reported in the literature. On the other hand, the low f(νO–H)H2O force constant value for trehalose, as compared with maltose and lactose could justify the very fragile character from the trehalose/water system to the temperature and concentration changes, as was experimentally observed from viscosity and Raman scattering studies.