Dehydrated native biopolymers - a unique representative of glassy systems

DSC study of native and denatured biopolymers with different chemical and steric structure was carried out in a wide range of temperatures and water contents. It was shown that all the native and denatured humid biopolymers studied are glassy systems. The residues of native structures surviving after partial dehydration prevent the glass transition at the glass transition temperatures of the denatured biopolymers. In dehydrated native biopolymers the processes of melting and glass transition take place in the same temperature range that leads to a large change of the heat capacity across denaturation.