Water perturbation close to non-polar groups in aqueous solutions

Abstract

The perturbation of water structure and/or dynamics close to biomolecules has often been considered to give rise to thermodynamic contributions to free energies of stabilisation, association, and substrate binding. Of particular interest is water perturbation close to non-polar groups, which has been argued for many years to give rise to the so-called hydrophobic interaction. Recent developments in neutron scattering instrumentation and techniques now allow us to probe directly possible water perturbations close to non-polar groups. The results presented suggest the conventional wisdom of the hydrophobic effect is significantly wanting. © 1993 IUPAC.