J. Biol. Macromol., 12(1), 17-28 (2012)

Increased Volume of Hydration around Dextran Molecules by Water
Treated with Ultra-Infrared Ray Radiating Ceramics
Yuuki YASUI 1 , Tadao IMANISHI 1 , Toshihiko YASUDA 2 , Kazuyoshi*

IWATA 3 and Yoh SANO 4
1

Shin-ei Sangyo Co. Ltd., Shinden-nishimati, Daito City, Osaka 574-0057

2

Shin-ei Japan Co. Ltd., Shinden-nishimati, Daito City, Osaka 574-0057

3

Department of Life Science, Graduate School of Life Science, University of
Hyogo, Harima Science Park City, Hyogo 678-1297

4Department of Physics, Kansai Medical University, 18-89, Uyamahigashi-cho,
Hirakata City Osaka 573-1136

Received December 07, 2011; Accepted March 09, 2012
The hydration volum e around dextran molecules w as examined w ithhigh and low molecular w eight dextrans which w ere dissolved i n tap w ater
and tw o kinds of w ater treated w ith ultra -inf rared ray radiating ceramics.
The partial specif ic volumes f or the dextra n in the ceramics -treated w ater
w ere higher than that in tap w ater. The evaporation rates f or the ceramics
treated w ater w ere also higher than that of tap w ater.

The results

suggested that the hydration volume around dextran molecules increased
because t he cluster size of w ater decreased due to the t reatment of theceramics.
Keyw ords: dextran; partial specific volumes; evaporation rate; ul tra -infrared;
functional water

Introduction

polymer of α -glucose and composed

We have examined the effects

of chains of var ying lengths. Recentof functional water on dextran, astudies reported that when waterwas

exposedtosubtleexternal*

To whom correspondence should
be addressed:
E-mail: k-iwata@arion.ocn.ne.jp ,Tel:+81-78-752-0528

energy field, it became functional invariousways

andbeh avedYasui, Y., et al.

18

differently from ordinary water. ( 1 - 9 ) .

the insolubilization is accompanied

When water was treated with theby the for mation of cross -li nked

ultra -infrared ray radi ating ceramics

structuresand used for food, the freshness ofmolecules. ( 1 5 - 1 7 ) .

among

dextranThefindings(10)

suggested that the quality of theand the growth rate of plants were

plasma substitutes and foods using

promoted ( 1 3 - 1 4 ) , and water and su gar

dextrancontent

regulating the dispersi on of dextran

fruits prolonged, fermentationincookedrice

increased. ( 1 1 - 1 2 )could

molecules.

becontrolled

Since

by

the hydration

Dextran is widely used byvolume on the surface of the dextran

food and phar maceuti cal industries.

molecules affects their dispersive

In food production, dextran is usedproperty, we examined effects of themainl y as thickening and gelling

ceramics -treatedagents in si milar manner to agarose,

dextran molecules by measuring thearginate,

densityandcarrageenan.

of

water

water

on

samplestheandDextrans of 40,000 Da (T40) andobtaining partial speci fic volume of

70,000Da(T70)

therapeutically

for

are

used

dextran.

blood

plasmaWe

also

substitutes such as plasma volume

characteristic

expanders andceramics -treated

well

as

anticoagulants , as

for

blood

pressure

examined

proper ties
watersandstudiesthedextran’sdispersi vemechanism of the insolubilization

possibilityofofdispersion

ofdextraninvest igating

developedintheinj ection vial during sterilizationand storage, we have revealed thatthebymeasuring their evaporation rates

maintenance agents . In our previous
in

of

the

their

relationships

topropert y.

regulating
dext ran

by

the
A
the
the

ceramics -treated water is discussed.

Hydration around Dextran in Ceramics-Treated Water

The

Materials and methods

two

19

ceramics -treated

1. Preparation of ceramics -treatedwater, A and B, as well as the tap

w ater and dextran solution

water were kept at 25 o C.

Two kinds of ceramic -treateddextranof

70,000

One g ofDa

(T70

water were prepared by flowing tap

Phar macia Lot No.279504) or thatwater (Hirakata Cit y Waterworks,of 500,000 Da (T500 Phar macia Lot

Osaka) through two stainless steel

No.MD01805) was dissolved in thecylinders, each of whi ch was packed

ceramics -treated water A, B, and theclosedoftap water to 50ml in volume. The

radiatingthree water and six prepared dextran(Shin -ei Sangyo

solution samples were incubated at

with

t wo

ultra -infrared(18)

ceramic -balls

kinds

o

Co. Ltd., Osaka, Japan) as described25

in Table 1.

following experi ments.

The flowing pressure

C

for

2h

and

used

in

the

measurement

of

the

and rate were set at 1.96x10 5 Pa and8x10 - 3 m 3 / min, respectivel y.

The

2. Measurements

same

as

(1)

tap

water

control.

was

used

a

Densit y

samples
Table1 Description of w ater sample

Water Samples

Description

Control w ater

Tap w ater of Hirakata City Water System, Osaka, Japan

Ceramics-treated
Water A

Prepared by having the tap w ater f low through once a
stainless steel cylinder of 66 cm in length and inner crosssection area of 164cm 2 , w hich w as packed w ith 248
ceramics balls (No.2 ceramics ball, medium size, Shin -ei
Sangyo, Co. Ltd. , Osaka, Japan).

Ceramics-treated
Water B

Prepared by having t he tap w ater f low through once of astainless steel cylinder of 47 cm in length and inner crosssection area of 32cm 2 , w hich w as packed w ith 10
ceramics balls (No.2 ceramics ball, medium size, Shin -ei
Sangyo, Co. Ltd. , Osaka, Japan)

Yasui, Y., et al.

20

The mass for each of t he threetemperature, the measurement waswater samples as well as the six

carried out in a double -chamberprepared dextran sol ution samples

system under a strict temperaturewascontrol.

measured

by

using

pycnometer.

The temperature of theThe

inner chamber was stabilized bytemperature of the samples was also

regulating that of outer chamber.

measured to obtain their density.

The humidit y was also controlled by(2) Esti mation of partial specificthevolumeelectronic balance was placed in the

Gay-Lussac’s

PartialAnanal yticalinner chamber under t he controlled

dextran solution (V) was calculated

temperature and humi dit y, and awith the following for mula,water-absorbing=

vol umemanner.

ofV

specificsame(1/ρ 0 )x{1 -(ρ-ρ 0 )/c}

Li Cl

plate

was

placed on the balance. A cylindricalc=2.00x10g/ ml,

container of 20 cm in diameter was

where the values ρ 0 , ρ, and c areplaceddensity of water, density of dextran

balance. The measurements for thesolution,

nine

and

concentrationofi mmediatel ysamples

of

next

2L

to

each

the

were

dextran solut ion, respectivel y.

(3) Measurement of evaporation
The

amountofevaporated

water for each of the nine samples
was measured using the evaporation
rate measuring system developed by
Shin -ei Sangyo Co. Ltd. , Osaka,
Japan.

(Fi g.1).

Since

the

evaporation rate is susceptible to

Fig.1
Aphotographoftheevaporation rate measuring device
devel oped by Shin -ei Sangyo, Co.
Ltd, Osaka, Japan.

Partial Specific Volume V(ml/g)

Hydration around Dextran in Ceramics-Treated Water

21

0.670

*

0.660

0.650

0.640

Tap water Ceramics-treated Ceramics-treatedwater A
water B

Fig.2 The partial specific volume(PSV) of T70 dextran dissolved in
the ceramics treated water A andB, and control water at 25 ℃ . The
bar graphs depict the average PSV+ standard deviation ( n=5) for thethree T70 solutio ns. * indicates asignificant
value(p<0.05)
compared to tap water.
carried out at 25
humidit y.

Theo

C and 30 ％temperatureofstatistical significance, and p<0.05
was considered si gnifi cant.

sample was equilibrat ed to that of
the inner chamber. The quantit y of

Results and Discussion

the water evaporation was recorded
ever y minute for 60 mi nutes as the1.

Partial specific volume (PSV) of

amount of water absorbed by the

dextran solution

LiCl plate.

No densit y di fference wasobser ved among the water samples(4) Statistical analysis

at

25

o

C.

After

measuringtheThe data for the evaporation

density of the six dextran solutions,rate for each of the water samples

their partial specific volume (PSV),

were collected and their means andvolume ( ml) per 1g of dextran, wasstandard deviations were obtained.

calculated. The obtained PSVs forT-test was perfor med to assess the

T70 and T500 dext ran solutions

Yasui, Y., et al.

22

were summari zed in Figures 2 and 3,

Although it is unclear how

respectivel y. In both T7 0 and T500

thecases, the PSVs f or the dextran

ceramics affect s the structure ofsolutionthewater, it has been suggested t hat theBultra -infrared ray released from thewere larger than that with the tap

ceramics may play an important rolewater. For the T70 case, the PSV inon changi ng the cluster size of water.

the water B was si gnificantly larger

Thethan in the control tap water.

water

clusteristhe T500 dextran case PSV in the

21J/mol

andthewater B was sli ghtl y larger than thatelectromagnetic wave corresponding

in the others.

to this energy is 5μm ( 1 0 ) . Since thepreparedceramics -treatedwith

wat er

A and

For

both
2. Evaporation rate
Electric
increases

if

conductivit y

trace

elements

areultra -infraredhydrogen -bondceramics

radiatingstrengthofapproxi matel ywavelengt h

used

in

of

this

experi ment

ha ve

t he

maxi mumemission

wavelength

whose

corresponding energy is higher thaneluted to water from ceramics as arefrom maifan stone.

Examining thethree water samples, we found nodifferences in oxidation -reduction
potential

andconducti vit y ( 1 1 ) .

No elements were

elutedwat ertotheelectric

from

the

ceramics, since the element anal ysis
did not detect any differences inelement contents among the threewater samples (data not shown) .

Partial Specific Volume V(ml/g)

0.670

0.660

0.650

0.640

Tap water

Ceramics-treated Ceramics-treatedwater A
water B

Fig.3 The partial specific volume(PSV) of T500 dextran dissol ved in
the ceramics treated waters A andB, and control water at 25 ℃ . The
bar graphs depict the average PSV +standard deviation ( n=5) for thethree T500 solutions.

Hydration around Dextran in Ceramics-Treated Water

21J/mol,

thegenerated

ultra -infraredraysmolecules escape from the surface
easily.

As a result, t he evaporation

ceramics may have cut the hydrogenrate

accelerated.

bonding between wat er molecules

measuringandnondestructi ve

thecluster

from

size

of

the

water

becomes smaller.

occurs when theliquidis

Since

evaporation

rate

method

the
is

a
for

water cluster, this method can besurface of the

exposed,applied for evaluati ng functional

allowing

water.

molecules to escape and to for mvapor.

isindirectly measuring the size of

The evaporation of water

Figure

4a

shows

the

As the cluster size of water

evaporation rates for t he three water

becomes small, the i nter molecularsamples. The vertical and horizontal

forcesaxes show the amount of water

become

weak,

and

water

1.4

Evaporation Rate (Relative Ratio)

1.00

Amount of evaporation (g)

23

a
0.80
0.60
0.40
0.20
0.00

1.2

b
＊

＊

1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0

0

20

40

Time (min)60

Tap water

Ceramics-treatedwater A

Ceramics-treatedwater B

Fig.4a The volume of evaporated water and the time wereplotted for the three water samples, tap water ( ▵ ),ceramics-treated water A (○), and ceramics -treated water B(■). 4b The relative ratios of the average evaporation rate +standard deviation (n=5) for the ceramics -treated water A,
ceramics-treated water B by placing that for the control water
as 1. * indicates a significan t value (p<0.05) compared to tap
water.

Yasui, Y., et al.

24

evaporated

and

the

measurement

control as 1.

As depicted in Fi g.

time respecti vel y, and the gradient4b,

indicates the evaporation rate.

The

ceramics -treatedinitialhowwere hi gher than that for the control,

readily water molecules evaporate,

which suggests that the treatment of

which should reflect the si ze ofwater with the cerami cs induce s thewater clusters.

reduction of the cluster size s.

gradient

indicates

As shown in Fi g.4a,

the relative r atios for the
wat er

A and

B

We

have expected that t he densit y oflarger for the both ceramics -treatedwater changes as the cluster si ze

water than f or the control. In orderchanges.

to make the relationship between

did not detect any differences inthe evaporation rate and the water

density among the water samples .

cluster size clear, we obtained the

Further experi ments are needed for

relative ratio of the evaporation rate

detecting and measuring the waterof the three water samples for one

density changes by using methods

hour period by placing that of themore sensiti ve than the pycnometer.

Partial specific volume of dextran
solution V(ml/g)

the amount of evaporated water was

However, t he pycnometer

0.670

0.665

T500

0.660
T70

Ceramics Ceramics-treated-treatedwater A
water B

0.655

Tap water
0.650
0.950

1.000

1.050

1.100

1.150

Evaporation rate of water (relative ratio)

Fig.5 The least square method was appl ied to examine therelationship between t he means of partial specific volume for the
T70 and T500 dextran solutions and the evaporation rates of thewater sa mples. A positive correlation was obtained for T70
dextran solution.

Hydration around Dextran in Ceramics-Treated Water

25

partial“free -drainage” structure, the water

specific volume (PSV) of dextran

molecules are attached to hydroxyl

solutions and the r ate of watergroup of sugar chain s of dextran byevaporationhydrogen3.

Correlation

bet ween

bonding,

and

for m

a

The least squares method

hydration layer.

appliedthecluster size is smal l, long-range

relationship between the means ofinteraction force among the waterpartial specific volume (PSV) for

molecules in the hydr ation layer isthe T70 and T500 dextran solution

relativel y strong.

Consequentl y,and their evaporation rate s. As Fi g.

the

the

5

correlation

molecules is thick and dense . If the

between the PVS and evaporation

cluster size is large, such as tap

rate for the PVS of dextran T70

water, the water molecules for m(MW. 70,000), and indicates that thehexagonal structure with a large

cluster size becomes small as thecavit y in the center. Since the water

PSV increases. For the dextran T500

molecules in such structure attach to(MW. 500,000) soluti on, a si milareachtendency was recogni ze d; however,interaction

it did not show a clear positive

layer

correlation.

correlation between the PSV and

was

shows

a

to

examinepositi velayer

ar oundotherisWhen the water

by

weak

force,
sparsetheanddextranshort -range
hydration
thin .

The

Small angle X -ray scat tering

evaporation rate is obt ained because

studies have shown t hat dextran ofof the for mation of the hydration

relativel y

layer

small

molecule

inattributable

to

the

solution such as T70 has randomcharacteristics of the dextran T70

coil structures ( 1 5 - 1 7 ) , where water

structure and si ze of water cluster.

molecules pass bet ween the dextran
molecules

freel y.

Insuch

The strong interaction force
betweenthepolysaccharide

Yasui, Y., et al.

26

segments in T500 dextran for ms

Our results suggest t hat themi crogelstructure,

where

water

ceramics -treatedwat ercouldbemolecules

cannotpass

freelyused to control the dispersion ofthrough the dextran molecules ( 1 9 ) .

dextran in solution.

In this “non -free drainage” structure,

can be applied for food production

tap water havi ng large cluster si ze

as

can not enter the space between theobtaining stable thickening agents

segments. On the ot her hand, theover ti me. Further more, the thickcluster size of the cer amics -treatedhydration layer may gi ve smoothwater B is small enough to enter the

texturespace,

thelaboratory, we have obser ved thatthickness of the hydr ation layer tothe dispersion stabil ity of br own

increase. It is suggested that thesugar in ceramics -treated water ispartial(PSV)

more stable than that in tap watertheand the level of water retention of

which

may

specific

increases

cause

volumebecauseitisThis function

part icularly

on

the

palate.

In

for

our

ceramics -treated water with small

soycluster size for ms a t hick hydration

ceramics -treatedlayer

than that with tap water (data notaroundWhen thedextranmolecules.

ceramics -t reated watermil kusefulshown).

withwat erhigherisThe

ceramics -treated

has

such

makes such thick hydration layerwateraround the dextran molecules, theyphar maceutical appli cation as forbecome stable and their molecular

intravenous inj ection preparations

associations are inhibi ted.

using dextran since it could prevent

In otherwords, aggregation of dextran inalso

preparedpotential

precipitation of dextran.

solution can be prevented when theceramics -treated water is used as

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EditedbyCommunicated by Ueno Hiroshi