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Updated: Aug 16, 2026

Methods for Characterizing the Co-development of Biofilm and Habitat Heterogeneity
Published on: March 11, 2015
Microscopic mechanism of water diffusion in glucose glasses
Valeria Molinero1, William A Goddard
1Materials and Process Simulation Center, Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology (MC 139-74), Pasadena, 91125, USA.
Abstract:
The preservation of biomaterials depends critically on the mobility of water in the glassy state, manifested as a secondary beta relaxation and diffusion. We use coarse grain simulations to elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying the relaxations for water-glucose glass, finding two pathways for water diffusion: (i) water jumps into neighbor water positions (linking to water structure), and (ii) water jumps into glucose positions (coupling to glucose rotation). This work suggests strategies for enhancing preservation by stiffening the segmental motions of the carbohydrates.
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Glucose Transporters
Facilitated diffusion-glucose transporters (GLUTs) are encoded by the solute-linked carrier (SLC) family 2, subfamily A gene family, or SLC2A. The 14 GLUT protein members are distributed into three classes:
Glucose Absorption Into the Small Intestine
Membrane Proteins
Aquaporins
Osmosis
Water, like other substances, moves from a high concentration of free water...
Diffusion

