The Critical Effect of Hydration on the Resonant Signatures of THz Biospectroscopy

Here we present an original study of the effect of hydration on Terahertz absorption signatures in biomolecular (lactose monohydrate and biotin) and bioparticles( Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus cereus spores). We observe "read-shift" in center frequency with increasing hydration in all samples, consistent with Lorentzian-oscillator behavior. But the effect of hydration on linewidth is ambiguous, sometimes increasing the linewdith (consistent with Lorentzian behaviour) and sometimes decreasing the linewidth.