Dielectric studies on glass transitions in biological systems

Author

Pissis, P. ; Anagnostopoulou-Konsta, A. ; Apekis, L. ; Daoukaki-Diamanti, D. ; Christodoulides, C. ; Sideris, E.G.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Phys., Nat. Tech. Univ. of Athens, Greece

Volume

27

Issue

4

fYear

1992

fDate

8/1/1992 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

820

Lastpage

825

Abstract

Despite several reports on glass transitions in different biological systems, their existence is still controversial. The method of thermally stimulated depolarization currents, which is very sensitive to transitions, is used to investigate this question. The thermograms obtained with different systems (plant tissue, proteins, saccharides) show, at high water contents, transitions in the temperature range 170 to 200 K, which shift to higher temperatures with decreasing water content. Three features of the transitions, namely the dependence of their dynamics on water content, the dependence of their activation energies on temperature, and the validity of compensation effects, reveal, in analogy to synthetic polymeric systems, the existence of two glass transitions, probably due to the hydration water and the matrix structure, respectively

Keywords

bioelectric phenomena; glass transition (polymers); macromolecular configurations; molecular biophysics; thermally stimulated currents; 170 to 200 K; activation energies; biological systems; compensation effects; dielectric studies; glass transitions; hydration water; matrix structure; plant tissue; proteins; saccharides; temperature range; thermally stimulated depolarization currents; thermograms; water content; Biological systems; Dielectrics; Glass; Helium; Polarization; Polymers; Proteins; Temperature dependence; Temperature distribution; Temperature sensors;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Electrical Insulation, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9367

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/14.155804

Filename

155804