M.A. Frechero

Structural and dynamical aspects of water in contact with a hydrophobic surface

Abstract.By means of molecular dynamics simulations we study the structure and dynamics of water molecules in contact with a model hydrophobic surface: a planar graphene-like layer. The analysis of the distributions of a local structural index indicates that the water molecules proximal to the graphene layer are considerably more structured than the rest and, thus, than the bulk. This structuring effect is lost in a few angstroms and is basically independent of temperature for a range studied comprising parts of both the normal liquid and supercooled states (240K to 320K). In turn, such structured water molecules present a dynamics that is slower than the bulk, as a consequence of their improved interactions with their first neighbors.

Sub-nanoscale surface ruggedness provides a water-tight seal for exposed regions in soluble protein structure.

Soluble proteins must maintain backbone hydrogen bonds (BHBs) water-tight to ensure structural integrity. This protection is often achieved by burying the BHBs or wrapping them through intermolecular associations. On the other hand, water has low coordination resilience, with loss of hydrogen-bonding partnerships carrying significant thermodynamic cost. Thus, a core problem in structural biology is whether natural design actually exploits the water coordination stiffness to seal the backbone in regions that are exposed to the solvent. This work explores the molecular design features that make this type of seal operative, focusing on the side-chain arrangements that shield the protein backbone. We show that an efficient sealing is achieved by adapting the sub-nanoscale surface topography to the stringency of water coordination: an exposed BHB may be kept dry if the local concave curvature is small enough to impede formation of the coordination shell of a penetrating water molecule. Examination of an exhaustive database of uncomplexed proteins reveals that exposed BHBs invariably occur within such sub-nanoscale cavities in native folds, while this level of local ruggedness is absent in other regions. By contrast, BHB exposure in misfolded proteins occurs with larger local curvature promoting backbone hydration and consequently, structure disruption. These findings unravel physical constraints fitting a spatially dependent least-action for water coordination, introduce a molecular design concept, and herald the advent of water-tight peptide-based materials with sufficient backbone exposure to remain flexible.

Colloidal properties of amiodarone in water at low concentration

Amiodarone aqueous systems at concentrations C<or=3mg/mL were studied with different techniques (conductivity, solubility, ion-selective electrodes, pH, viscosity, polarizing microscopy, computational simulation, electron microscopy and fluorescence at various temperatures. The Krafft point (T(K)=70.6 degrees C) was determined. A partial phase diagram was plotted showing the critical micelle concentration (CMC) dependence on temperature, the solubility and a transition between a coacervate and an unstable gel below T(K) as a function of temperature. The nature of aggregates below T(K) at different concentrations was determined. Micellization is an entropy-driven process which is probably caused by a strong dehydration of the amiodarone backbone on micellization. CMC, micelle aggregation number and T(K) given in earlier literature were misinterpreted in the original articles and are re-interpreted in this work.

Aggregation and adsorption behavior of low concentration aqueous solutions of hexadecyltrimethylammonium ortho, meta, and parafluorobenzoate

The aggregation properties of 2-, 3-, and 4-fluorobenzoic acids (2FBA, 3FBA, and 4FBA, respectively) and their salts with hexadecyltrimethylammonium cations (HTA2FB, HTA3FB, and HTA4FB) in water were studied with a battery of techniques. Their activity at the air/solution interface has been also studied. The position of the fluorine atom in the acid affected the solubility, adsorption, and aggregation in the pure acids solutions. The 4FBA is less water soluble, more hydrophobic, and has the lower critical aggregation concentration of the three isomers. The behavior of the HTA2FB compound in aqueous solution is different from that of HTA3FB and HTA4FB. The critical micelle concentration, critical concentration for sphere-to-rod-like micelle transition, and Krafft point of HTA3FB and HTA4FB are lower than those of the other surfactant but their surface activities are higher. The differences between the HTA2FB and the other two surfactants have been explained on the basis of the regular solution theory of mixed micelles and in light of the analysis of the hydration shell of the acids through molecular dynamic simulations. The results of the present work suggest that the different behaviors are due to a combination of different dehydration tendencies and the steric possibility of inclusion of the counterions in the micelle palisade layer. The formation of rod-like micelles by HTA2FB, while the tetradecyltrimethylammonium 2-fluorobenzoate only forms spherical aggregates, is explained on the basis of the packing parameter. The mentioned factors are complementary to others presented in literature. These conditions may be used in the rational design of micelles by means of molecular dynamics simulations, reducing the trial-and-error approach used to date.

Time evolution of clusters of mobile particles in a model glass former

In this work we investigate by means of molecular dynamics simulations the detailed time evolution of string-like cooperative motions in a binary Lennard–Jones system at temperatures close to its mode-coupling temperature, Tc. The strings will be fully geometrically and dynamically characterised, making evident the correlated and concerted nature of the motions of the particles comprised. We shall show that at low temperature each string occurs in a sharp time window within the time interval [0,t∗], where t∗ is a characteristic time related to the lifetime of the global clusters of mobile particles. Moreover, the different strings that comprise a given global cluster will be shown to take place independently and asynchronically, thus providing further support to the heterogeneous scenario of relaxation, but in which different independent string-like sub-regions relax at different timescales. Finally, we shall also demonstrate that as temperature is increased the strings evolve during an increasing fraction of the time interval [0,t∗] and that for T∼0.55 the lifetimes of the strings and of the global clusters become akin to each other.

Intermediate structures for higher level arrangements: catching disk-like micelles in decane phosphonic acid aqueous solutions.

It has been proposed that disk-like micelles may be precursors to the formation of lamellar liquid crystals. The possibility of obtaining n-decane phosphonic acid (DPA) disk-like micelles in aqueous solution without the addition of a second ionic surfactant led us to study in detail the low-concentration range of this system by both a battery of experimental techniques and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The experimental results indicate that premicelles with some capacity to solubilize dyes are formed at 0.05 mM. The critical micelle concentration (cmc) was found to be 0.260 ± 0.023 mM, much lower than that previously reported in the literature. Spherical micelles, which immediately grow, leading to disk-like micelles, are probably formed at this concentration. At 0.454 ± 0.066 mM, disk-like micelles become unstable, giving rise to the formation of an emulsion of lamellar mesophase that dominates the system beyond 0.670 ± 0.045 mM. These experimental results were corroborated by MD simulations which, additionally, allow describing the structure of the obtained micelles at atomic level. The analysis of the MD trajectories revealed the presence of strong intermolecular hydrogen bonds between the surfactant headgroups, producing a compact polar layer with low water content. The formation of such H-bond network could explain the ability of this surfactant to form disk-like micelles at concentrations close to the cmc.

Intermediate-range structure in ion-conducting tellurite glasses

We present ac conductivity spectra of telluritie glasses at several temperatures. For the first time, we report oscillatory modulations at frequencies around MHz. This effect is more pronounced the lower the temperature, and washes out when approaching the glass transition temperature Tg. We show, by using a minimal model, how this modulation may be attributed to the fractal structure of the glass at intermediate mesoscopic length scales.

Effect of ionization on the behavior of n-eicosanephosphonic acid monolayers at the air/water interface. Experimental determinations and molecular dynamics simulations.

Monolayers of n-eicosanephosphonic acid, EPA, were studied using a Langmuir balance and a Brewster angle microscope at different subphase pH values to change the charge of the polar headgroups (Zav) from 0 to -2. Molecular dynamics simulations (MDS) results for |Zav| = 0, 1, and 2 were compared with the experimental ones. EPA monolayers behave as mixtures of mutually miscible species (C20H41-PO3H2, C20H41-PO3H(-), and C20H41-PO3(2-), depending on the subphase pH). The order and compactness of the monolayers decrease when increasing |Zav|, while go from strongly interconnected by phosphonic-phosphonic hydrogen bonds (|Zav| = 0-0.03) through an equilibrium between the total cohesive energy and the electrostatic repulsion between the charged polar groups (0.03 < |Zav| < 1.6) to an entirely ionic monolayer (|Zav| ≈ 2). MDS reveal for |Zav| = 0 that the chains form spiralled nearly rounded structures induced by the hydrogen-bonded network. When |Zav| ≈ 1 fingering domains were identified. When Z ≈ 2, the headgroups are more disordered and distanced, not only in the xy plane but also in the z direction, forming a rough layer and responding to compression with a large plateau in the isotherm. The monolayers collapse behavior is consistent with the structures and domains founds in the different ionization states and their consequent in-plane rigidity: there is a transition from a solid-like response at low pH subphases to a fluid-like response at high pH subphases. The film area in the close-packed state increases relatively slow when the polar headgroups are able to form hydrogen bonds but increases to near twice that this value when |Zav| ≈ 2. Other nanoscopic properties of monolayers were also determined by MDS. The computational results confirm the experimental findings and offer a nanoscopic perspective on the structure and interactions in the phosphonate monolayers.