In a living body, a variety of molecules are working in concerted manner to maintain their life, and to inherit the genetic information from generation to generation. In that respect, life embodies two aspects, one as molecules (or matter) and the other as information. Needless to say, protein, RNA, and DNA are among the main players of the life theater. However, those so called the biomolecules by themselves cannot play their intrinsic roles without water, or may not even exist in the universe. Let us see this by taking an enzymatic reaction as an example, which is a protein to catalyze a chemical reaction. Firstly, an enzyme should take a specific structure referred to as “native conformation” to be able to work as a catalyst, which has a cavity to accommodate substrate molecules of the reaction. Without water, a protein cannot take such a specific structure. Secondly, an enzyme should bind and/or unbind substrate molecules at the cavity or active site. The process, called molecular recognition, is controlled by hydration and dehydration processes. Thirdly, the both processes are regulated by another physicochemical process referred to as structural fluctuation that in turn is governed by the hydration free energy. And, finally, a water molecule itself becomes a substrate of a chemical reaction called hydrolysis that is the most abundant reactions taking place in our body. So, life phenomena are woven by water as warp and biomolecules as woof. The speaker has been exploring such phenomena for more than thirty years based on the statistical mechanics of molecular liquids, or the RISM and 3D-RISM theories, since he first started studies of biophysics in Levy’s group at Rutgers university. In the talk, the speaker will present his latest works that are related to the structural fluctuation of protein, driven by water.

Exploring life phenomena woven by water and biomolecules

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.