Previous studies from this laboratory suggested that a solution model (Flory-Huggins equation) modified by a free volume model (Vrentas equation) could satisfactorily describe water absorption into an amorphous solid composed of a sugar or a polymer. This paper has extended the studies of single solutes to binary mixtures of trehalose-and sucrose-poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (trehalose-PVP and sucrose-PVP, respectively) either co-lyophilized or individually lyophilized and then physically mixed. Water vapor absorption isotherms of the binary mixtures were determined at 30 degrees C. Co-lyophilized PVP-sugar mixtures take up essentially the same amount of water as predicted by the weight average of individual isotherms, whereas sugar crystallization is significant retarded in the molecular dispersions. The sugar-PVP interaction, as reflected in the Flory-Huggins chi interaction parameter, was estimated by fitting the high relative pressure (p/p(0)) region of the isotherm, at which the system is in a liquid state, with a three-component Flory-Huggins-type model. The estimated sugar-water PVP-water, and sugar-PVP interaction parameters suggest that the solute-water interactions are not significantly affected by the sugar-PVP interaction; that is, the solute-water interaction parameters in a binary solute system are similar to those in the corresponding single solute systems. Based on these interaction parameters, the sucrose-PVP interaction appears to be stronger than that of trehalose-PVP. Manipulation of the interaction parameters suggest that the water vapor absorption isotherm is not a sensitive indicator of possible sugar-PVP interactions. Density, glass transition temperature, T(g), and the heat capacity change, DeltaC(p), at T(g) were determined to estimate the excess water absorption energy due to the plasticizing effect of water using the structural relaxation model, as described by Vrentas. Results suggest that PVP is a better antiplasticizer for sucrose than for trehalose. Consequently, the excess free energy arising from structural relaxation was disproportionally reduced by the presence of PVP in these molecular dispersions. Finally, the entire isotherms of co-lyophilized sugar-PVP mixtures are reasonably described with an extended three-component Flory-Huggins model and Vrentas glass structural relaxation model.