Nwh. Cheetham et K. Lam, HYDRATION STUDIES OF CARBOHYDRATES .4. NMR-STUDIES OF CARBOHYDRATE HYDRATION, Australian Journal of Chemistry, 49(3), 1996, pp. 365-369
Measurement of water oxygen-17 relaxation times has been used to provi
de information about the hydration behaviour of some carbohydrates in
aqueous solution. While a solvent water molecule is 'bound' to the sol
ute, its reduced rotation is reflected in the solvent n.m.r. relaxatio
n. The experimental data are consistent with a fast-exchange two-state
model of carbohydrate hydration. Such a model allows calculation of t
he activation energies for the molecular processes involved in spin re
laxation of bound water. The activation energies provide information a
bout the specific hydration properties of individual sugars. Dynamic h
ydration numbers of five aldohexoses and two methyl glucopyranosides h
ave been determined. These hydration numbers correlate well with hydra
tion parameters derived from a number of techniques. Overall, the resu
lts provide additional support for a stereospecific model of monosacch
aride hydration.