Structure and stability of columnar cyclomaltooctaose (gamma-cyclodextrin) hydrate
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Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water
Published on: August 2, 2012
Marcus A Hunt1, Cristian C Rusa, Alan E Tonelli
1Fiber and Polymer Science Program, Campus Box 8301, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-8301, USA.
Abstract:
Rapid recrystallization of cyclomaltooctaose (gamma-cyclodextrin, gamma-CD) from aqueous solution resulted in formation of a columnar structure with only water as the guest molecule. Upon vacuum drying at 90 degrees C for 15 h, gamma-CD, which was initially in the columnar structure, became amorphous. Complementary water vapor sorption and wide-angle X-ray diffractometry experiments were performed on columnar gamma-CD in its vacuum dried and as-precipitated states to elucidate its stability in humid environments and the crystal structure present at varying sorption levels. These experiments show that both types of gamma-CD transform to the cage crystal structure upon exposure to water vapor at 40 degrees C and with an activity of 1.0. Sorption equilibrium is reached long before the crystal structure transformation is complete, indicating that a significant amount of molecular mobility exists in the various hydrated gamma-CD crystal structures.
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