Stabilization of dry liposomes by carbohydrates.

Many organisms have adopted biochemical strategies that enable them to survive dehydration, a condition known as "anhydrobiosis". In addition to resistance to the deleterious effects of drying, anhydrobiotes are also resistant to a number of other adverse environmental conditions. Studies on the biochemistry of anhydrobiotes show a strong correlation between their ability to survive drying and the production of specific sugars, of which the most widely studied is trehalose. Studies of model systems show that direct interactions of trehalose with dry biological membranes, liposomes, and isolated proteins avoid the damaging events caused by drying. Cellular components are maintained in a physical state when dry that mimics the hydrated state. Although the presence of only two disaccharides, trehalose and sucrose, has been correlated with survival of drying under natural conditions, other molecules that achieve the same results may be effective.