Water sorption/desorption - near IR and calorimetric study of crystalline and amorphous raffinose

Mass loss at elevated RH is an established method for determining the occurrence of crystallisation of an amorphous material. Through the combination of near infrared spectroscopy and gravimetric vapour sorption, it has been possible to show the transition of raffinose from its spray-dried amorphous form to a crystalline form without this characteristic mass loss. It has also been possible to observe changes in the crystalline material for a period of 30 h subsequent to exposure to elevated relative humidity by near infrared spectroscopy that are not associated with changes in mass, but are related to repacking of hydrate molecules. Drying of the crystalline pentahydrate in the DVS-NIR was seen to show changes in the NIR peak related to -OH. From this, NIR peaks were tentatively ascribed as relating to a penta-, tetra-, tri- and a di-hydrate form, but the sample returned to the amorphous response by the time the water content fell to the equivalent of the monohydrate, indicating that crystallinity had been lost. These observations would be compatible with the hypothesis that lower hydrates of raffinose exist. Due to the absence of mass loss in association with crystallisation, it was found that the enthalpy of crystallisation of amorphous raffinose, as determined by isothermal microcalorimetry, is similar to the enthalpy of fusion determined by differential scanning calorimetry. Finally, it was observed that the early part of the response in the isothermal microcalorimeter was related to mobility of molecules when Ta was above T. This mobility was able to give the bulk morphology of a crystal before the sample developed long range order and crystalline properties. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.