Water Dynamics in the Hydration Layer around Proteins and Micelles

Abstract

This review deals with dynamics of water molecules in the hydration layer that surrounds self-assemblies and proteins in aqueous solutions. This topic has not only seen a vigorous upsurge of interest in the past decade but also has been a subject of investigation for almost half a century now. The basic motivation behind such studies is that they provide valuable information regarding the structure and dynamics of hydration layers and also about the dynamics of self-assemblies and biomolecules themselves. Perhaps the perception about this problem was aptly voiced by Robinson et al. a few years ago when they observed that this "is the most important problem in science that hardly anyone wants to see solved. While one may certainly argue over the superlative used and the skepticism voiced, the need for a better understanding of this important problem was apparent. Fortunately, considerable progress has been made in recent years by the combination of a host of experimental, theoretical, and computer simulation techniques. We aim to review a part of this progress. Because the existing literature is huge, my review may not be exhaustive but I hope to address at least some of the key issues.