Microdetermination of the degree of hydration of polysaccharides and glycoproteins

In the hydration of polysaccharides and glycoproteins a "glass transition effect" has been discovered, i.e., a phase transition, at certain critical values of the relative water-vapour pressure (P/P(s))(gt), of lyophilized preparations to a new state which is accompanied by a "glass transition" of the samples. The dependence of (P/P(s))(gt) the content of polysaccharide and glycoprotein has been shown. Conditions have been found which make it possible to measure the absolute value of the degree of hydration of such biopolymers at any values of p/p(s), by means of Karl Fischer titration.