Damien Laage

Why Water Reorientation Slows without Iceberg Formation around Hydrophobic Solutes

The dynamics of water molecules next to hydrophobic solutes is investigated, specifically addressing the recent controversy raised by the first time-resolved observations, which concluded that some water molecules are immobilized by hydrophobic groups, in strong contrast to previous NMR conclusions. Through molecular dynamics simulations and an analytic jump reorientation model, we identify the water reorientation mechanism next to a hydrophobic solute and provide evidence that no water molecules are immobilized by hydrophobic solutes. Their moderate rotational slowdown compared to bulk water (e.g., by a factor of less than 2 at low solute concentration) is mainly due to slower hydrogen-bond exchange. The slowdown is quantitatively described by a solute excluded volume effect at the transition state for the key hydrogen-bond exchange in the reorientation mechanism. We show that this picture is consistent with both ultrafast anisotropy and NMR experimental results and that the transition state excluded volume theory yields quantitative predictions of the rotational slowdown for diverse hydrophobic solutes of varying size over a wide concentration range. We also explain why hydrophobic groups slow water reorientation less than do some hydrophilic groups.

On the Molecular Mechanism of Water Reorientation

We detail and considerably extend the analysis recently presented in Science 2006, 311, 832- 835 of the molecular mechanism of water reorientation based on molecular dynamics simulations and the analytic framework of the extended jump model (EJM). The water reorientation is shown to occur through large-amplitude angular jumps due to the exchange of hydrogen (H)-bond acceptors, with a minor contribution from the diffusive H-bond frame reorientation between these exchanges. The robust character of this mechanism with respect to different water models is discussed. We fully characterize these jump events, including the distributions of trajectories around the average path. The average path values and the distributions of the jump time and the jump amplitude, the two key parameters in the Ivanov jump model component of the EJM, are determined. We also discuss the possibility of selectively exciting water molecules close to the jump event, of interest for ultrafast infrared experiments. In addition to a comparison of predicted reorientation times with experimental results, the reorientation time temperature dependence is discussed. A detailed description of the pathway free energetics for the water reorientation is presented; this is used to identify the jump rate-limiting step as the translational motion in which the initial H-bond of the reorientating water is elongated and the new H-bond acceptor water approaches.

Reorientional dynamics of water molecules in anionic hydration shells

Water molecule rotational dynamics within a chloride anions first hydration shell are investigated through simulations. In contrast to recent suggestions that the ions hydration shell is rigid during a waters reorientation, we find a labile hydration sphere, consistent with previous assessments of chloride as a weak structure breaker. The nondiffusive reorientation mechanism found involves a hydrogen-bond partner switch with a large amplitude angular jump and the waters departure from the anions shell. An analytic extended jump model accounts for the simulation results, as well as available NMR and ultrafast spectroscopic data, and resolves the discrepancy between them.

Reorientation and Allied Dynamics in Water and Aqueous Solutions

The reorientation of a water molecule is important for a host of phenomena, ranging over--in an only partial listing--the key dynamic hydrogen-bond network restructuring of water itself, aqueous solution chemical reaction mechanisms and rates, ion transport in aqueous solution and membranes, protein folding, and enzymatic activity. This review focuses on water reorientation and related dynamics in pure water, and for aqueous solutes with hydrophobic, hydrophilic, and amphiphilic character, ranging from tetra-methylurea to halide ions and amino acids. Attention is given to the application of theory, simulation, and experiment in the probing of these dynamics, in usefully describing them, and in assessing the description. Special emphasis is placed on a novel sudden, large-amplitude jump mechanism for water reorientation, which contrasts with the commonly assumed Debye rotational diffusion mechanism, characterized by small-amplitude angular motion. Some open questions and directions for further research are also discussed.

Magnitude and Molecular Origin of Water Slowdown Next to a Protein

Hydration shell dynamics plays a critical role in protein folding and biochemical activity and has thus been actively studied through a broad range of techniques. While all observations concur with a slowdown of water dynamics relative to the bulk, the magnitude and molecular origin of this retardation remain unclear. Via numerical simulations and theoretical modeling, we establish a molecular description of protein hydration dynamics and identify the key protein features that govern it. Through detailed microscopic mapping of the water reorientation and hydrogen-bond (HB) dynamics around lysozyme, we first determine that 80% of the hydration layer waters experience a moderate slowdown factor of ~2-3, while the slower residual population is distributed along a power-law tail, in quantitative agreement with recent NMR results. We then establish that the water reorientation mechanism at the protein interface is dominated by large angular jumps similar to the bulk situation. A theoretical extended jump model is shown to provide the first rigorous determination of the two key contributions to the observed slowdown: a topological excluded-volume factor resulting from the local protein geometry, which governs the dynamics of the fastest 80% of the waters, and a free energetic factor arising from the water-protein HB strength, which is especially important for the remaining waters in confined sites at the protein interface. These simple local factors are shown to provide a nearly quantitative description of the hydration shell dynamics.

On the Residence Time for Water in a Solute Hydration Shell: Application to Aqueous Halide Solutions

We investigate several different methods to determine the water residence time next to a solute from molecular dynamics simulations. The popular computational prescription due to Impey et al. ( J. Phys. Chem. 1983, 87, 5071-5083) is shown to be extremely sensitive to the t* tolerance time value (designed to account for barrier recrossing effects), and we evidence through a kinetic analysis that the conventionally employed t* = 2 ps value can yield seriously overestimated residence times for low barrier exchanges. We suggest an alternate, robust determination based on the stable states picture (SSP) of chemical reactions ( J. Chem. Phys. 1980, 73, 2700-2714) where recrossing is naturally discarded. This is illustrated by calculation of the water residence time next to a water molecule and next to a chloride ion, using both nonpolarizable and polarizable force-fields. The SSP results are in good agreement with the residence times estimated by a separate kinetic analysis, and differ noticeably from those calculated in the conventional fashion mentioned above.

Water dynamics in protein hydration shells: the molecular origins of the dynamical perturbation.

Protein hydration shell dynamics play an important role in biochemical processes including protein folding, enzyme function, and molecular recognition. We present here a comparison of the reorientation dynamics of individual water molecules within the hydration shell of a series of globular proteins: acetylcholinesterase, subtilisin Carlsberg, lysozyme, and ubiquitin. Molecular dynamics simulations and analytical models are used to access site-resolved information on hydration shell dynamics and to elucidate the molecular origins of the dynamical perturbation of hydration shell water relative to bulk water. We show that all four proteins have very similar hydration shell dynamics, despite their wide range of sizes and functions, and differing secondary structures. We demonstrate that this arises from the similar local surface topology and surface chemical composition of the four proteins, and that such local factors alone are sufficient to rationalize the hydration shell dynamics. We propose that these conclusions can be generalized to a wide range of globular proteins. We also show that protein conformational fluctuations induce a dynamical heterogeneity within the hydration layer. We finally address the effect of confinement on hydration shell dynamics via a site-resolved analysis and connect our results to experiments via the calculation of two-dimensional infrared spectra.

Mechanisms of Acceleration and Retardation of Water Dynamics by Ions

There are fundamental and not yet fully resolved questions concerning the impact of solutes, ions in particular, on the structure and dynamics of water, which can be formulated as follows: Are the effects of ions local or long-ranged? Is the action of cations and anions on water cooperative or not? Here, we investigate how the reorientation and hydrogen-bond dynamics of water are affected by ions in dilute and concentrated aqueous salt solutions. By combining simulations and analytic modeling, we first show that ions have a short-ranged influence on the reorientation of individual water molecules and that depending on their interaction strength with water, they may accelerate or slow down water dynamics. A simple additive picture combining the effects of the cations and anions is found to provide a good description in dilute solutions. In concentrated solutions, we show that the average water reorientation time ceases to scale linearly with salt concentration due to overlapping hydration shells and structural rearrangements which reduce the translational displacements induced by hydrogen-bond switches and increase the solution viscosity. This effect is not ion-specific and explains why all concentrated salt solutions slow down water dynamics. Our picture, which is demonstrated to be robust vis-a-vis a change in the force-field, reconciles the seemingly contradictory experimental results obtained by ultrafast infrared and NMR spectroscopies, and suggests that there are no long-ranged cooperative ion effects on the dynamics of individual water molecules in dilute solutions.

Water Hydrogen Bond Dynamics in Aqueous Solutions of Amphiphiles

The hydrogen bond dynamics of water in a series of amphiphilic solute solutions are investigated through simulations and analytic modeling with an emphasis on the interpretation of experimentally accessible two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) photon echo spectra. We evidence that for most solutes the major effect in the hydration dynamics comes from the hydrophilic groups. These groups can retard the water dynamics much more significantly than can hydrophobic groups by forming strong hydrogen bonds with water. By contrast, hydrophobic groups are shown to have a very moderate effect on water hydrogen bond breaking kinetics. We also present the first calculation of the 2D IR spectra for these solutions. While 2D IR spectroscopy is a powerful technique to probe water hydrogen bond network fluctuations, interpretations of aqueous solution spectra remain ambiguous. We show that a complementary approach through simulations and calculation of the spectra lifts the ambiguity and provides a clear connection between the simulated molecular picture and the experimental spectroscopy data. For amphiphilic solute solutions, we show that, in contrast with techniques such as NMR or ultrafast anisotropy, 2D IR spectroscopy can discriminate between waters next to the solutes hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups. We also evidence that the water dynamics slowdown due to the hydrophilic groups is dramatically enhanced in the 2D IR spectral relaxation, because these groups can induce a slow chemical exchange with the bulk, even when recognized exchange signatures are absent. Implications for the understanding of water around chemically heterogeneous systems such as protein surfaces and for the interpretation of 2D IR spectra in these cases are discussed.

Biomolecular hydration dynamics: a jump model perspective

The dynamics of water molecules within the hydration shell surrounding a biomolecule can have a crucial influence on its biochemical function. Characterizing their properties and the extent to which they differ from those of bulk water have thus been long-standing questions. Following a tutorial approach, we review the recent advances in this field and the different approaches which have probed the dynamical perturbation experienced by water in the vicinity of proteins or DNA. We discuss the molecular factors causing this perturbation, and describe how they change with temperature. We finally present more biologically relevant cases beyond the dilute aqueous situation. A special focus is on the jump model for water reorientation and hydrogen bond rearrangement.