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Updated: Aug 14, 2025

Solubility of Hydrophobic Compounds in Aqueous Solution Using Combinations of Self-assembling Peptide and Amino Acid
Published on: September 20, 2017
Structure and dynamics of the hyaluronan oligosaccharides and their solvation shell in water: organic mixed solvents
Eva Kutálková1, Marek Ingr2, Alena Kolaříková1
1Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Faculty of Technology, Department of Physics and Materials Engineering, Nám. T.G. Masaryka 5555, 76001 Zlín, Czech Republic.
Abstract:
Hyaluronan (HA) is a natural polysaccharide occurring ubiquitously in the connective tissues of vertebrates widely used in the cosmetic and pharmaceutic industries. In numerous applications HA oligosaccharides are being chemically modified using reactions incompatible with aqueous solutions, often carried out in water:organic mixed solvents. We carry out molecular-dynamics (MD) simulations of HA oligosaccharides in water:1,4-dioxane and water:tert-butanol mixtures of different compositions. HA molecule causes a separation of the solvent components in its surroundings, especially in tert-butanol containing solutions, constituting thus a solvation shell enriched by water. Furthermore, interactions with ions are stronger than in pure water and depend on the solvent composition. Consequently, the dynamics of the HA chain varies with the solvent composition and causes observable conformational changes of the HA oligosaccharide. Composition of mixed solvents thus enables us to modify the interaction of HA with other molecules as well as its reactivity.
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