Water-biomolecule systems under extreme conditions: from confinement to pressure effects

Abstract

Water is a unique liquid, many of whose properties are critical for the continued support of life. In living systems, essential water-related phenomena occur in restricted geometries in cells, and at active sites of proteins and membranes or at their surface. The effects of hydration on equilibrium protein structure and dynamics are fundamental to the relationship between structure and biological function. In particular, the configuration of water molecules near the hydrophilic-hydrophobic interfaces is of considerable relevance. The structure and dynamics of water confined in model systems developing hydrophilic interactions are compared with that of bulk water as determined by hydrophilic interactions are compared with that of bulk water as determined by neutron scattering. It is well known that hydration, internal dynamics, and function in proteins are intimately associated. Studies of dynamics of water molecules at surface of a C-phycocyanin protein are presented.