Experimental Evidence of Slow Mode Water in the Vicinity of Poly(ethylene oxide) at Physiological Temperature

In some synthetic polymers used for medical applications, hydration water in the vicinity of the polymer chains is known to play an important role in biocompatibility and is referred to as intermediate water. The crystallization of water below 0 °C observed during thermal analysis has been considered as evidence of the presence of intermediate water. However, the origin and physicochemical properties of intermediate water have not yet been elucidated. In this study, as a typical biocompatible polymer, poly(ethylene oxide) and its hydration water were investigated with the use of terahertz time-domain spectroscopy and quasi-elastic neutron scattering. The obtained results prove the existence of a significant amount of mobile water that interacts with the polymer chains even when the water content is low at physiological temperatures.