Proteins in Amorphous Saccharides: Structural and Dynamical Insights on Bioprotection

We report on experimental and simulative insights on saccharide-based bioprotection, obtained through the study of proteins embedded in amorphous saccharide matrices. The data presented come from a complementary set of techniques (FTIR, MD simulations and SAXS), which provides a description of the bioprotection mechanism from the atomistic to the macroscopic level. The results concur to draw a picture in which bioprotection by saccharides can be explained in terms of a tight anchorage of the protein surface to a stiff matrix, via extended hydrogen-bond networks, whose properties are defined by all its components, and are strongly dependent on the water content. In particular, they show how carbohydrates having similar hydrogenbonding capabilities exhibit different efficiency in preserving biostructures.