Crowding Stabilizes DMSO-Water Hydrogen-Bonding Interactions

Nonlinear composition dependence of hydrogen bond lifetime in water-DMSO binary mixtures: The role of hydrophobic interaction

The lifetime of a hydrogen bond between water and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is found to be considerably longer than that between two water molecules in neat water. This is counter-intuitive because the charge on the oxygen in DMSO is considerably less than that in water. Additionally, the strength of the water-dimethyl sulfoxide (w-D) hydrogen bond is found to be strongly composition dependent; the lifetime of the hydrogen bond is ten times larger at 30% than at very low concentrations. Using computer simulations, we perform microscopic structural and dynamic analysis to find that these anomalies arise at least partly from an "action-at-a-distance" effect where the attraction between the hydrophobic methyl groups results in the self-aggregation of DMSO molecules that "cages" both the rotational and linear motions of the molecules involved. This is reflected in the observed strong correlation of the lifetime with the local coordination number of the associated methyl groups. The elongated w-D h-bond lifetime causes a slowdown of collective dynamics and affects the lifetime of the w-w h-bond. This nonlinear feedback mechanism explains the strong composition dependence of viscosity and is anticipated to play a dominant role in many self-assemblies. Furthermore, the w-D hydrogen bond breaking mechanism changes from low to high DMSO concentration, a phenomenon not anticipated a priori. We introduce a new order parameter-based free energy surface of the bond breaking pathway. A two-dimensional transition state rate theory calculation is performed for the lifetime of the w-D h-bond that is found to be semi-quantitatively accurate.

Controlling Interfacial Hydrogen Bonding at a Gold Surface: The Effect of Organic Cosolvents

Water often serves as both a reactant and solvent in electrocatalytic reactions. Interfacial water networks can affect the transport and kinetics of these reactions, e.g., hydrogen evolution reaction and CO2 reduction reaction. Adding cosolvents that influence the hydrogen-bonding (H-bonding) environment, such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), has the potential to tune the reactivity of these important electrocatalytic reactions by regulating the interfacial local environment and water network. We investigate interfacial H-bonding networks in water-DMSO cosolvent mixtures on gold surfaces by using surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations. Experiments and simulations show that the gold surface is enriched with dehydrated DMSO molecules and the mixture phase-separates to form water clusters. Simulations show a "buckled" water conformation at the surface, further constraining interfacial H-bonding. The small size of these water clusters and the energetically unfavorable H-bond conformations might inhibit H-bonding with bulk water, suppressing the proton diffusion required for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction processes.

Bridging the Gap in Cryopreservation Mechanism: Unraveling the Interplay between Structure, Dynamics, and Thermodynamics in Cryoprotectant Aqueous Solutions

Cryoprotectants play a crucial role in preserving biological material, ensuring their viability during storage and facilitating crucial applications such as the conservation of medical compounds, tissues, and organs for transplantation. However, the precise mechanism by which cryoprotectants modulate the thermodynamic properties of water to impede the formation and growth of ice crystals, thus preventing long-term damage, remains elusive. This is evident in the use of empirically optimized recipes for mixtures that typically contain DMSO, glycerol, and various sugar constituents. Here, we use terahertz calorimetry, Overhauser nuclear polarization, and molecular dynamics simulations to show that DMSO exhibits a robust structuring effect on water around its methyl groups, reaching a maximum at a DMSO mole fraction of XDMSO = 0.33. In contrast, glycerol exerts a smaller water-structuring effect, even at higher concentrations (Scheme 1). These results potentially suggest that the wrapped water around DMSO's methyl group, which can be evicted upon ligand binding, may render DMSO a more surface-active cryoprotectant than glycerol, while glycerol may participate more as a viscogen that acts on the entire sample. These findings shed light on the molecular intricacies of cryoprotectant solvation behavior and have potentially significant implications for optimizing cryopreservation protocols.

Infrared spectroscopic analysis of hydrogen-bonding interactions in cryopreservation solutions

BACKGROUND

In this study we investigated hydrogen bonding interactions in hydrated and frozen solutions of different cryoprotective agents (CPAs) including dimethyl sulfoxide, glycerol, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, and trehalose. We also investigated the effect of CPAs on ice crystal growth during storage and correlated this with storage stability of liposomes.

METHODS

FTIR spectroscopy was used to study hydrogen bonding interactions in CPA solutions in H₂O and D₂O, and their thermal response was analyzed using van 't Hoff analysis. The effect of CPAs on ice crystal growth during storage was investigated by microscopy and correlated with storage stability of liposomes encapsulated with a fluorescent dye.

RESULTS

Principal component analyses demonstrated that different CPAs can be recognized based on the shape of the OD band region only. Chemically similar molecules such as glycerol and ethylene glycol closely group together in a principal component score plot, whereas trehalose and DMSO appear as condensed separated clusters. The OH/OD band of CPA solutions exhibits an overall shift to higher wavenumbers with increasing temperature and changed fractions of weak and strong hydrogen interactions. CPAs diminish ice crystal formation in frozen samples during storage and minimize liposome leakage during freezing but cannot prevent leakage during frozen storage.

CONCLUSIONS

CPAs can be distinguished from one another based on the hydrogen bonding network that is formed in solution. DMSO-water mixtures behave anomalous compared to other CPAs that have OH groups. CPAs modulate ice crystal formation during frozen storage but cannot prevent liposome leakage during frozen storage.

How cryoprotectants work: hydrogen-bonding in low-temperature vitrified solutions

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) increases cell and tissue viability at low temperatures and is commonly used as a cryoprotectant for cryogenic storage of biological materials. DMSO disorders the water hydrogen-bond networks and inhibits ice-crystal growth, though the specific DMSO interactions with water are difficult to characterize. In this study, we use a combination of Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), molecular dynamics simulations, and vibrational frequency maps to characterize the temperature-dependent hydrogen bonding interactions of DMSO with water from 30 °C to -80 °C. Specifically, broad peaks in O-D stretch vibrational spectra of DMSO and deuterated water (HDO) cosolvent systems show that the hydrogen bond networks become increasingly disrupted compared to pure water. Simulations demonstrated that these disrupted hydrogen bond networks remain largely localized to the first hydration shell of DMSO, which explains the high DMSO concentrations needed to prevent ice crystal formation in cryopreservation applications.

Sulfoxide-Containing Polyacrylamides Prepared by PICAR ATRP for Biohybrid Materials

Water-soluble and biocompatible polymers are of interest in biomedicine as the search for alternatives to PEG-based materials becomes more important. In this work, the synthesis of a new sulfoxide-containing monomer, 2-(methylsulfinyl)ethyl acrylamide (MSEAM), is reported. Well-defined polymers were prepared by photoinduced initiators for continuous activator regeneration atom transfer radical polymerization (PICAR ATRP). The polymerizations were performed in water under biologically relevant conditions in a small volume without degassing the reaction mixture. DNA-PMSEAM and protein-PMSEAM hybrids were also synthesized. The lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of PMSEAM was estimated to be approximately 170 °C by extrapolating the LCST for a series of copolymers with variable content of N-isopropylacrylamide. The cytotoxicity studies showed excellent biocompatibility of PMSEAM, even at concentrations up to 2.5 mg/mL. Furthermore, the MSEAM monomer exhibited relatively lower toxicity than similar (meth)acrylate-based monomers at comparable concentrations.

Importance of Hydrogen Bonding in Crowded Environments: A Physical Chemistry Perspective

Cells are heterogeneous on every length and time scale; cytosol contains thousands of proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and small molecules, and molecular interactions within this crowded environment determine the structure, dynamics, and stability of biomolecules. For decades, the effects of crowding at the atomistic scale have been overlooked in favor of more tractable models largely based on thermodynamics. Crowding can affect the conformations and stability of biomolecules by modulating water structure and dynamics within the cell, and these effects are nonlocal and environment dependent. Thus, characterizing water's hydrogen-bond (H-bond) networks is a critical step toward a complete microscopic crowding model. This perspective provides an overview of molecular crowding and describes recent time-resolved spectroscopy approaches investigating H-bond networks and dynamics in crowded or otherwise complex aqueous environments. Ultrafast spectroscopy combined with atomistic simulations has emerged as a powerful combination for studying H-bond structure and dynamics in heterogeneous multicomponent systems. We discuss the ongoing challenges toward developing a complete atomistic description of macromolecular crowding from an experimental as well as a theoretical perspective.

Anomalous Infrared Absorbance of S═O: A Perturbation Study of α-C-H/D

Solvatochromic shifts of S═O vibrational probes describe the strength of the surrounding electric fields and the hydrogen bonding status. Herein, we demonstrated how the solvents alter the infrared (IR) spectra of the S═O vibrating mode. The experimental measurement of the involvement of α-H/D isotopic interactions with different solvents and their effects on the IR absorbance spectra of the vibrational probe provides detailed knowledge of the microsolvation environment despite the complexity of overlapping bands in the spectra. Herein, we discover how the solvents interact differently with DMSO and DMSO-d6, while being electronically and structurally the same. Interestingly, the IR spectrum of the S═O mode remains unaltered during α-isotopic replacement in the presence of aprotic solvents (acetone, acetonitrile, and dichloromethane), but in strongly coordinating polar solvents (D2O), it is altered remarkably. There is a lack of quantitative information about the influence of the α-H atom or α-isotopic substitution on the vibrational probe in the literature. Our experiments provide a detailed molecular understanding of the structure of DMSO in DMSO-solvent binary mixtures. As DMSO plays an important role in virtually all subdisciplines of chemistry and biology, we believe that our work will be of interest to a large diversity of studies in these fields.

Investigating water/oil interfaces with opto-thermophoresis

Charging of interfaces between water and hydrophobic media is a mysterious feature whose nature and origin have been under debate. Here, we investigate the fundamentals of the interfacial behaviors of water by employing opto-thermophoretic tweezers to study temperature-gradient-induced perturbation of dipole arrangement at water/oil interfaces. With surfactant-free perfluoropentane-in-water emulsions as a model interface, additional polar organic solvents are introduced to systematically modify the structural aspects of the interface. Through our experimental measurements on the thermophoretic behaviors of oil droplets under a light-generated temperature gradient, in combination with theoretical analysis, we propose that water molecules and mobile negative charges are present at the water/oil interfaces with specific dipole arrangement to hydrate oil droplets, and that this arrangement is highly susceptible to the thermal perturbation due to the mobility of the negative charges. These findings suggest a potential of opto-thermophoresis in probing aqueous interfaces and could enrich understanding of the interfacial behaviors of water.

On-Off Infrared Absorption of the S═O Vibrational Probe of Dimethyl Sulfoxide

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), a polar solvent molecule, is used in a wide range of therapeutic and pharmacological applications. Different intermolecular interactions, such as dimerization and hydrogen bonding with water, are crucial to understanding the role of DMSO in applications. Herein, we study DMSO in various solvation environments to decipher the environment-dependent dimerization and hydrogen-bonding propensity. We use a combination of infrared spectroscopy, quantum mechanical calculations, and molecular dynamics simulations to reach our conclusions. Although DMSO can exist in a dynamic equilibrium between monomers and dimers, our results show that the relative intensity of the S═O stretch and the CH₃ rocking modes is a spectroscopic indicator of the extent of DMSO dimerization in solution. The dimerization (self-association) is seen to be maximum in neat DMSO. When dissolved in different solvents, the dimerization propensity decreases with increasing solvent polarity. In the presence of a protic solvent, such as water, DMSO forms a hydrogen bond with the solvent molecules, thereby reducing the extent of dimerization. Further, we estimate the hydrogen-bond occupancy of DMSO. Our results show that DMSO predominantly exists as doubly hydrogen-bonded in water.

Cobalt Metal-Organic Frameworks with Aggregation-Induced Emission Characteristics for Fluorometric/Colorimetric Dual Channel Detection of Nitrogen-Rich Heterocyclic Compounds

Nitrogen-rich heterocyclic compounds (NRHCs) are an emerging type of explosive, and their quantification is important in national security inspection and environmental monitoring. Up until now, designing an efficient NRHCs sensing strategy was still in the early stages. Herein, a new metal-organic framework (MOF) with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics is synthesized with fluorometric/colorimetric responses for rapid and selective detection of NRHCs. The nonemissive probe is designed with tetraphenylethylene derivative as the linker and Co as the node, quencher, and color-changing agent. Cobalt AIE-MOF exhibits a turn-on emission enhancement due to the competitive coordination substitution between NRHCs and the scaffold as well as the following AIE process of the liberative linkers. Meanwhile, the color appearance of the probe changes from blue to yellow based on the dissociation of the original Co coordinating system. Using this dual-mode probe, single- and dual-ring NRHCs are successfully detected from 5 μM to 7.5 mM within 25 s. The cobalt AIE-MOF exhibits excellent selectivity of NRHCs against a variety of interferences, providing a promising tool for designing a multichannel detection strategy.

Intramolecular Charge Transfer of Curcumin and Solvation Dynamics of DMSO Probed by Time-Resolved Raman Spectroscopy

Intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) of curcumin in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solution in the excited state was investigated by femtosecond electronic and vibrational spectroscopy. Excited-state Raman spectra of curcumin in the locally-excited and charge-transferred (CT) state of the S₁ excited state were separated due to high temporal (<50 fs) and spectral (<10 cm⁻¹) resolutions of femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy. The ultrafast (0.6–0.8 ps) ICT and subsequent vibrational relaxation (6–9 ps) in the CT state were ubiquitously observed in the ground- and excited-state vibrational modes of the solute curcumin and the ν_CSC and ν_S=O modes of solvent DMSO. The ICT of curcumin in the excited state was preceded by the disruption of the solvation shells, including the breakage of hydrogen bonding between curcumin and DMSO molecules, which occurs at the ultrafast (20–50 fs) time scales.

New insights into a hydrogen bond: hyper-Raman spectroscopy of DMSO-water solution

Hydrogen bonding plays an essential role in biological processes by stabilizing proteins and lipid structures as well as controlling the speed of enzyme catalyzed reactions. Dimethyl sulfoxide-water (DMSO-H₂O) solution serves as a classical model system by which the direct and indirect effects of hydrogen bonding between water hydrogens and the sulfoxide functional group can be explored. The complex transition from self-bonding to heterogeneous bonding is important, and multiple spectroscopic approaches are needed to provide a detailed assessment of those interactions. In this report, for the first time, hyper-Raman scattering was successfully employed to investigate molecular interactions in DMSO-H₂O system. We measured the improper blueshift of the C-S and C-H stretching modes of DMSO caused by partial charge transfer and enhanced bond polarization. By detecting differences in the frequency shifts of C-S and C-H modes for low DMSO concentrations (<33 mol%) we find evidence of the intermolecular bonds between water and the DMSO methyl groups. We exploit the high sensitivity of hyper-Raman scattering to the low frequency librations of H₂O to observe a change in librational mode population providing insight into existing questions about the coordination of H₂O around DMSO molecules and the formation of the H₂O shell around DMSO molecules proposed in prior simulation studies. These results demonstrate that hyper-Raman spectroscopy can be a practical spectroscopic technique to study the intermolecular bonding of model systems and test claims about model system bonding generated by theoretical calculations.

A Different hIAPP Polymorph Is Observed in Human Serum Than in Aqueous Buffer: Demonstration of a New Method for Studying Amyloid Fibril Structure Using Infrared Spectroscopy

There is enormous interest in measuring amyloid fibril structures, but most structural studies measure fibril formation in vitro using aqueous buffer. Ideally, one would like to measure fibril structure and mechanism under more physiological conditions. Toward this end, we have developed a method for studying amyloid fibril structure in human serum. Our approach uses isotope labeling, antibody depletion of the most abundant proteins (albumin and IgG), and infrared spectroscopy to measure aggregation in human serum with reduced protein content. Reducing the nonamyloid protein content enables the measurements by decreasing background signals but retains the full composition of salts, sugars, metal ions, etc. that are naturally present but usually missing from in vitro studies. We demonstrate the method by measuring the two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectra of isotopically labeled human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP or amylin). We find that the fibril structure of hIAPP formed in serum differs from that formed via aggregation in aqueous buffer at residues Gly24 and Ala25, which reside in the putative "amyloidogenic core" or FGAIL region of the sequence. The spectra are consistent with extended parallel stacks of strands consistent with β-sheet-like structure, rather than a partially disordered loop that forms in aqueous buffer. These experiments provide a new method for using infrared spectroscopy to monitor the structure of proteins under physiological conditions and reveal the formation of a significantly different polymorph structure in the most important region of hIAPP.

Ultrafast Dynamics at the Lipid-Water Interface: DMSO Modulates H-Bond Lifetimes

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a common cosolvent and cryopreservation agent used to freeze cells and tissues. DMSO alters the H-bond structure of water, but its interactions with biomolecules and, specifically, with biological interfaces remain poorly understood. Here we investigate the effects of DMSO on the H-bond dynamics at the lipid-water interface using a combination of ultrafast two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations. Ester carbonyl absorption spectra show that DMSO dehydrates the interface, and simulations show that the area per lipid is decreased. Ultrafast 2D IR spectra measure the time scales of frequency fluctuations at the ester carbonyl positions located precisely between the hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions of the membrane. 2D IR measurements show that low DMSO concentrations (<10 mol %) induce ∼40% faster H-bond dynamics compared with pure water, whereas increased concentrations (>10-20 mol %) once again slow down the dynamics. This slow-fast-slow trend is described in terms of two different solvation regimes. Below 10 mol %, DMSO weakens the interfacial H bond, leading to faster "bulk-like" dynamics, whereas above 10 mol %, water molecules become "relatively immobilized" as the H-bond networks becoming disrupted by the H-bond donor/acceptor imbalance at the interface. These studies are an important step toward characterizing the environments around lipid membranes, which are essential to numerous biological processes.

NMR Relaxation Dispersion Reveals Macrocycle Breathing Dynamics in a Cyclodextrin-based Rotaxane

A distinctive feature of mechanically interlocked molecules (MIMs) is the relative motion between the mechanically bonded components, and often it is the functional basis for artificial molecular machines and new functional materials. Optimization of machine or materials performance requires knowledge of the underlying atomic-level mechanisms that control the motion. The field of biomolecular NMR spectroscopy has developed a diverse set of pulse schemes that can characterize molecular dynamics over a broad time scale, but these techniques have not yet been used to characterize the motion within MIMs. This study reports the first observation of NMR relaxation dispersion related to MIM motion. The rotary (pirouette) motion of α-cyclodextrin (αCD) wheels was characterized in a complementary pair of rotaxanes with pirouetting switched ON or OFF. ¹³C and ¹H NMR relaxation dispersion measurements reveal previously unknown exchange dynamics for the αCD wheels in the pirouette-ON rotaxane with a rate constant of 2200 s^-1 at 298 K and an activation barrier of ΔF^‡ = 43 ± 3 kJ/mol. The exchange dynamics disappear in the pirouette-OFF rotaxane, demonstrating their switchable nature. The ¹³C and ¹H sites exhibiting relaxation dispersion suggest that the exchange involves "macrocycle breathing", in which the αCD wheel fluctuates between a contracted or expanded state, the latter enabling diffusive rotary motion about the axle. The substantial insight from these NMR relaxation dispersion methods suggests similar dynamic NMR methods can illuminate the fast time scale (microsecond to millisecond) mechanisms of intercomponent motion in a wide range of MIMs.

Investigation of hydrogen bonding in Water/DMSO binary mixtures by Raman spectroscopy

Raman spectra of water/dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) mixtures have been observed at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. We find that the Raman peaks corresponding to the symmetric and asymmetric O-H stretching vibration mode of water rapidly move to lower wavenumber with increasing DMSO concentration. These results indicate that the strong hydrogen bond between DMSO-water complexes helps to strengthen the tetrahedral structure of water when the volume fraction of DMSO is less than 0.6. Moreover, the blue/red shifts of SO and C-H are obvious when the concentration of DMSO reaches 0.6, which may be due to changes in the structure of the DMSO-water complex. Furthermore, the frequency shift of the C-H group indicates that the non-polar methyl group of DMSO forms a hydrophobic hydrated structure. Finally, the frequency shift of the Raman peaks of SO and C-H exhibited a highly consistent concentration dependence due to the cooperation effect of the C-H⋯O with the O-H⋯OS.

Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation Produces Fast H-Bond Dynamics in DMSO-Water Mixtures

Liquid-liquid phase separation is common in complex mixtures, but the behavior of nanoconfined liquids is poorly understood from a physical perspective. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is an amphiphilic molecule with unique concentration-dependent bulk properties in mixtures with water. Here, we use ultrafast two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectroscopy to measure the H-bond dynamics of two probe molecules with different polarities: formamide (FA) and dimethylformamide (DMF). Picosecond H-bond dynamics are fastest in the intermediate concentration regime (20-50 mol % DMSO), because such confined water exhibits bulk-like dynamics. Each vibrational probe experiences a unique microscopic environment as a result of nanoscale phase separation. Molecular dynamics simulations show that the dynamics span multiple time scales, from femtoseconds to nanoseconds. Our studies suggest a previously unknown liquid environment, which we label "local bulk", in which despite the local heterogeneity, the ultrafast H-bond dynamics are similar to bulk water.

Controlling Homogenous Spherulitic Crystallization for High-Efficiency Planar Perovskite Solar Cells Fabricated under Ambient High-Humidity Conditions

The influence of precursor solution properties, fabrication environment, and antisolvent properties on the microstructural evolution of perovskite films is reported. First, the impact of fabrication environment on the morphology of methyl ammonium lead iodide (MAPbI₃ ) perovskite films with various Lewis-base additives is reported. Second, the influence of antisolvent properties on perovskite film microstructure is investigated using antisolvents ranging from nonpolar heptane to highly polar water. This study shows an ambient environment that accelerates crystal growth at the expense of nucleation and introduces anisotropies in crystal morphology. The use of antisolvents enhances nucleation but also influences ambient moisture interaction with the precursor solution, resulting in different crystal morphology (shape, size, dispersity) in different antisolvents. Crystal morphology, in turn, dictates film quality. A homogenous spherulitic crystallization results in pinhole-free films with similar microstructure irrespective of processing environment. This study further demonstrates propyl acetate, an environmentally benign antisolvent, which can induce spherulitic crystallization under ambient environment (52% relative humidity, 25 °C). With this, planar perovskite solar cells with ≈17.78% stabilized power conversion efficiency are achieved. Finally, a simple precipitation test and in situ crystallization imaging under an optical microscope that can enable a facile a priori screening of antisolvents is shown.

Correspondence between Spectral-Derived and Viscosity-Derived Local Composition in Binary Liquid Mixtures Having Specific Interactions with Preferential Solvation Theory

Local interactions between unlike molecules (1-2) in solution are commonly measured with spectroscopy and used to estimate local composition. Herein, a viscosity model based on preferential solvation (PS) theory is developed for aqueous and nonaqueous binary liquid mixtures containing a dipolar aprotic solvent that provides local composition considering the hydration or solvation shell around complex (1-2) molecules. Spectral-derived and viscosity-derived local composition distributions showed similar trends with bulk composition, and their correspondence is attributed to characteristics of the hydration or solvation shell. Viscosity-derived local compositions were consistent with literature molecular simulations, whereas spectral-derived local composition distributions contained artifacts. The PS viscosity model is also applicable to nonpolar-polar mixtures for which self-association occurs, and it can be used to estimate solvent mixture dipolarity/polarizability. Since the PS viscosity model only requires bulk viscosity, it may provide a means to estimate microviscosity or the solvent environment around biomolecules.