Temperature and Concentration Effects on the Solvophobic Solvation of Methane in Aqueous Salt Solutions

Solubility of Hydrophobes into Macrocyclic Hosts

The intrinsic nature of macrocyclic molecules to preferentially absorb a specific solute has been opening up supramolecular chemistry. Nevertheless, the determinant factor with molecular perspectives in promoting host-guest complexations remains inconclusive, due to the lack of rigorous thermodynamic examination on the guest solubility inside the host. Here, we quantify the solute-solvent energetic and entropic contributions between the end states and on the docking route during inclusion of noble gases in cucurbit[5]uril, cucurbit[6]uril, and α-cyclodextrin, using molecular dynamics simulations in combination with the potential distribution theorem. Results show that in all of the pairs examined both the solute-solvent energy and entropy favor the inclusion, while the former is rather dominant. The frequency of interior drying, which pertains to the entropic contribution, differs between the hosts and is controlled by the existence of lid water at portal and the flexibility of host framework. Moreover, the hosts exhibit various types of absorption manners, involving non-, single-, and double-free-energy barriers.

Ion Size Dependences of the Salting-Out Effect: Reversed Order of Sodium and Lithium Ions

A general trend of the salting-out effect on hydrophobic solutes in aqueous solution is that the smaller the size of a dissolved ion, the larger the effect of reducing the solubility of a hydrophobe. An exception is that Li⁺, the smallest in alkali metal ions, has a notably weaker effect than Na⁺. To understand the reversed order in the cation series, we performed molecular dynamics simulations of aqueous solutions of salt ions and calculated the Setschenow coefficient of methane with the ionic radius of either a cation or an anion varied in a wide range. It is confirmed that the Setschenow coefficient is correlated with the packing fraction of salt solution, as observed in earlier studies, and also correlated with the partial molar volume of an ion. Analyses of correlation function integrals, packing fractions of solvation spheres, and orientations of water molecules surrounding an ion reveal the key differences in microscopic properties between the cation and anion series, which give rise to the reversed order in the cation series of the partial molar volumes of ions and ultimately that of the Setschenow coefficients.

Influence of Ionic Strength on Hydrophobic Interactions in Water: Dependence on Solute Size and Shape

Hydrophobicity is a phenomenon of great importance in biology, chemistry, and biochemistry. It is defined as the interaction between nonpolar molecules or groups in water and their low solubility. Hydrophobic interactions affect many processes in water, for example, complexation, surfactant aggregation, and coagulation. These interactions play a pivotal role in the formation and stability of proteins or biological membranes. In the present study, we assessed the effect of ionic strength, solute size, and shape on hydrophobic interactions between pairs of nonpolar particles. Pairs of methane, neopentane, adamantane, fullerene, ethane, propane, butane, hexane, octane, and decane were simulated by molecular dynamics in AMBER 16.0 force field. As a solvent, TIP3P and TIP4PEW water models were used. Potential of mean force (PMF) plots of these dimers were determined at four values of ionic strength, 0, 0.04, 0.08, and 0.40 mol/dm³, to observe its impact on hydrophobic interactions. The characteristic shape of PMFs with three extrema (contact minimum, solvent-separated minimum, and desolvation maximum) was observed for most of the compounds for hydrophobic interactions. Ionic strength affected hydrophobic interactions. We observed a tendency to deepen contact minima with an increase in ionic strength value in the case of spherical and spheroidal molecules. Additionally, two-dimensional distribution functions describing water density and average number of hydrogen bonds between water molecules were calculated in both water models for adamantane and hexane. It was observed that the density of water did not significantly change with the increase in ionic strength, but the average number of hydrogen bonds changed. The latter tendency strongly depends on the water model used for simulations.

Hydrophobic Hydration and the Effect of NaCl Salt in the Adsorption of Hydrocarbons and Surfactants on Clathrate Hydrates

Adsorption of functional molecules on the surface of hydrates is key in the understanding of hydrate inhibitors. We investigate the adsorption of a hydrocarbon chain, nonionic and ionic surfactants, and ions at the hydrate-aqueous interface. Our results suggest a strong connection between the water ordering around solutes in bulk and the affinity for the hydrates surface. We distinguish two types of water ordering around solutes: (i) hydrophobic hydration where water molecules form a hydrogen bond network similar to clathrate hydrates, and (ii) ionic hydration where water molecules align according to the polarity of an ionic group. The nonionic surfactant and the hydrocarbon chain induce hydrophobic hydration and are favorably adsorbed on the hydrate surface. Adsorption of ions and the ionic headgroups on the hydrate surface is not favorable because ionic hydration and the hydrogen bond structure of hydrates are incompatible. The nonionic surfactant is adsorbed by the headgroup and tail while adsorption of the ionic surfactants is not favorable through the head. Water ordering is analyzed using the hydrogen bond and tetrahedral density profiles as a function of the distance to the chemical groups. The adsorption of solutes is studied through the free energy profiles as a function of the distance to the hydrate surface. Salt lowers the melting temperature of hydrates, disrupts hydrophobic hydration, reduces the solubility of solutes in the aqueous solution, and increases the propensity of solutes to be adsorbed on hydrate surfaces. Our studies are performed by the unbiased and steered molecular dynamics simulations. The results are in line with experiments on the effect of salt and alkanes in hydrate antiagglomeration.

A molecular dynamics study of the equation of state and the structure of supercooled aqueous solutions of methanol

We perform molecular dynamics computer simulations in order to study the equation of state and the structure of supercooled aqueous solutions of methanol at methanol mole fractions x(m) = 0.05 and x(m) = 0.10. We model the solvent using the TIP4P/2005 potential and the methanol using the OPLS-AA force field. We find that for x(m) = 0.05 the behavior of the equation of state, studied in the P - T and P - ρ planes, is consistent with the presence of a liquid-liquid phase transition, reminiscent of that previously found for x(m) = 0. We estimate the position of the liquid-liquid critical point to be at T = 193 K, P = 96 MPa, and ρ = 1.003 g/cm(3). When the methanol mole fraction is doubled to x(m) = 0.10 no liquid-liquid transition is observed, indicating its possible disappearance at this concentration. We also study the water-water and water-methanol structure in the two solutions. We find that down to low temperature methanol can be incorporated into the water structure for both x(m) = 0.05 and x(m) = 0.10.

Effects of ionic strength on SAXS data for proteins revealed by molecular dynamics simulations

The combination of small-angle X-ray solution scattering (SAXS) experiments and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations is now becoming a powerful tool to study protein conformations in solution at an atomic resolution. In this study, we investigated effects of ionic strength on SAXS data theoretically by using MD simulations of hen egg white lysozyme at various NaCl concentrations from 0 to 1 M. The calculated SAXS excess intensities showed a significant dependence on ion concentration, which originates from the different solvent density distributions in the presence and absence of ions. The addition of ions induced a slow convergence of the SAXS data, and a ∼20 ns simulation is required to obtain convergence of the SAXS data with the presence of ions whereas only a 0.2 ns simulation is sufficient in the absence of ions. To circumvent the problem of the slow convergence in the presence of ions, we developed a novel method that reproduces the SAXS excess intensities with the presence of ions from short MD trajectories in pure water. By applying this method to SAXS data for the open and closed forms of transferrin at 1 M ion concentration, the correct form could be identified by simply using short MD simulations of the protein in pure water for 0.2 ns.

Molecular dynamics studies on the thermodynamics of supercooled sodium chloride aqueous solution at different concentrations

In this paper we compare recent results obtained by means of molecular dynamics computer simulations on the thermodynamics of TIP4P bulk water and on solutions of sodium chloride in TIP4P water. The concentrations studied are c = 0.67, 1.36 and 2.10 mol kg( - 1). The results are checked against change of water-salt potential and size effects. The systems are studied in a wide range of temperatures, going from ambient temperature to the supercooled region. Analysis of simulated state points, performed on the isochores and on the isotherm plane, allowed the determination of the limit of mechanical stability and of the temperature of maximum density lines. While the presence of ions in the system does not affect the limit of mechanical stability with respect to the bulk, it causes the temperature of the maximum density line to shift to lower pressure and temperature upon increasing concentration. The occurrence of minima in the trend of potential energy as a function of density and the inflections in the low temperature isotherms suggest the presence of liquid-liquid coexistence for bulk water and for the sodium chloride solutions at all concentrations studied.

Effect of hydrophobic solutes on the liquid-liquid critical point

Jagla ramp particles, interacting through a ramp potential with two characteristic length scales, are known to show in their bulk phase thermodynamic and dynamic anomalies, similar to what is found in water. Jagla particles also exhibit a line of phase transitions separating a low density liquid phase and a high density liquid phase, terminating in a liquid-liquid critical point in a region of the phase diagram that can be studied by simulations. Employing molecular dynamics computer simulations, we study the thermodynamics and the dynamics of solutions of hard spheres (HS) in a solvent formed by Jagla ramp particles. We consider the cases of HS mole fraction xHS=0.10, 0.15, and 0.20, and also the case xHS=0.50 (a 1:1 mixture of HS and Jagla particles). We find a liquid-liquid critical point, up to the highest HS mole fraction; its position shifts to higher pressures and lower temperatures upon increasing xHS. We also find that the diffusion coefficient anomalies appear to be preserved for all the mole fractions studied.

Unfolding of hydrophobic polymers in guanidinium chloride solutions

Guanidinium chloride (GdmCl) is a widely used chemical denaturant that unfolds proteins. Its effects on hydrophobic interactions are, however, not fully understood. We quantify the effects of GdmCl on various manifestations of hydrophobicity--from solvation and interactions of small solutes to folding-unfolding of hydrophobic polymers--in water and in concentrated GdmCl solutions. For comparison, we also perform similar calculations in solutions of NaCl and CsCl in water. Like NaCl and CsCl, GdmCl increases the surface tension of water, decreases the solubility of small hydrophobic solutes, and enhances the strength of hydrophobic interactions at the pair level. However, unlike NaCl and CsCl, GdmCl destabilizes folded states of hydrophobic polymers. We show that Gdm(+) ions preferentially coat the hydrophobic polymer, and it is the direct van der Waals interaction between Gdm(+) ions and the polymer that contributes to the destabilization of folded states. Interestingly, the temperature dependence of the free energy of unfolding of the hydrophobic polymer in water is protein-like, with signatures of both heat and cold denaturation. Addition of GdmCl shifts the cold denaturation temperature higher, into the experimentally accessible region. Finally, translational as well as conformational dynamics of the polymer are slower in GdmCl and correlate with dynamics of water molecules in solution.

How Does Solute-Polarization Affect the Hydrophobic Hydration of Methane?

We simulate the solubility and solvation free energy of methane dissolved in water at infinite dilution. Molecular dynamics simulations of TIP4P-Ew model water are carried out at ambient pressure conditions over a large temperature interval, ranging from 250 K to 370 K. Solvation free energies are determined using the Widom particle insertion method. The fitted temperature dependent data is used to calculate solvation enthalpies, entropies, as well as the heat capacity of solvation. In particular we study the effect of polarizability of methane on those thermodynamic parameters. Solute polarization leads to a lowering of the solvation free energy at 298 K to 8.3 kJ mol−1, almost exactly matching the experimental value. A close inspection of the enthalpic and entropic contributions, however, reveals that this coincidence is a consequence of a compensation of enthalpic and entropic contributions, each of them deviating even larger from their respective experimental values. Surprisingly, the solute polarizability is apparently affecting the solvation entropy more strongly than the solvation enthalpy, leading to an about 5 J K−1 mol−1 smaller (less negative) solvation entropy compared to the non-polarizable model. The solute-water radial distribution functions of the polarizable particle reveals significant modifications, favoring small distances, as well as structural changes, very similar to those caused by a temperature increase. This is suggesting that the reduced negative solvation entropy of a polarizable methane particle is related to a more disordered, "high-temperature"-like hydration shell.