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

Interface Water Assists in Dimethyl Sulfoxide Crossing and Poration in Model Bilayer

Understanding the mechanism of transport and pore formation by a commonly used cryoprotectant, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), across cell membranes is fundamentally crucial for drug delivery and cryopreservation. To shed light on the mechanism and thermodynamics of pore formation and crossing behavior of DMSO, extensive all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of 1,2-dimyristoyl-rac-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) bilayers are performed at various concentrations of DMSO at a temperature above the physiological temperature. Our results unveil that DMSO partially depletes water from the interface and positions itself between lipid heads without full dehydration. This induces a larger area per headgroup, increased disorder, and enhanced fluidity without any disintegration even at the highest DMSO concentration studied. The enhanced disorder fosters local fluctuations at the interface that nucleate dynamic and transient pores. The potential of mean force (PMF) of DMSO crossing is derived from two types of biased simulations: a single DMSO pulling using the umbrella sampling technique and a cylindrical pore formation using the recently developed chain reaction coordinate method. In both cases, DMSO crossing encounters a barrier attributed to unfavorable polar nonpolar interactions between DMSO and lipid tails. As the DMSO concentration increases, the barrier height reduces along with the faster lateral and perpendicular diffusion of DMSO suggesting favorable permeation. Our findings suggest that the energy required for pore formation decreases when water assists in the formation of DMSO pores. Although DMSO displaces water from the interface toward the far interface region without complete dehydration, the presence of interface water diminishes pore formation free energy. The existence of interface water leads to the formation of a two-dimensional percolated water-DMSO structure at the interface, which is absent otherwise. Overall, these insights into the mechanism of DMSO crossing and pore formation in the bilayer will contribute to understanding cryoprotectant behavior under supercooled conditions in the future.

Solvation-Tuned Photoacid as a Stable Light-Driven pH Switch for CO2 Capture and Release

Photoacids are organic molecules that release protons under illumination, providing spatiotemporal control of the pH. Such light-driven pH switches offer the ability to cyclically alter the pH of the medium and are highly attractive for a wide variety of applications, including CO2 capture. Although photoacids such as protonated merocyanine can enable fully reversible pH cycling in water, they have a limited chemical stability against hydrolysis (<24 h). Moreover, these photoacids have low solubility, which limits the pH-switching ability in a buffered solution such as dissolved CO2. In this work, we introduce a simple pathway to dramatically increase stability and solubility of photoacids by tuning their solvation environment in binary solvent mixtures. We show that a preferential solvation of merocyanine by aprotic solvent molecules results in a 60% increase in pH modulation magnitude when compared to the behavior in pure water and can withstand stable cycling for >350 h. Our results suggest that a very high stability of merocyanine photoacids can be achieved in the right solvent mixtures, offering a way to bypass complex structural modifications of photoacid molecules and serving as the key milestone toward their application in a photodriven CO2 capture process.

Binding-induced lipid domains: Peptide-membrane interactions with PIP2 and PS

Cell signaling is an important process involving complex interactions between lipids and proteins. The myristoylated alanine-rich C-kinase substrate (MARCKS) has been established as a key signaling regulator, serving a range of biological roles. Its effector domain (ED), which anchors the protein to the plasma membrane, induces domain formation in membranes containing phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) and phosphatidylserine (PS). The mechanisms governing the MARCKS-ED binding to membranes remain elusive. Here, we investigate the composition-dependent affinity and MARCKS-ED-binding-induced changes in interfacial environments using two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy and fluorescence anisotropy. Both negatively charged lipids facilitate the MARCKS-ED binding to lipid vesicles. Although the hydrogen-bonding structure at the lipid-water interface remains comparable across vesicles with varied lipid compositions, the dynamics of interfacial water show divergent patterns due to specific interactions between lipids and peptides. Our findings also reveal that PIP2 becomes sequestered by bound peptides, while the distribution of PS exhibits no discernible change upon peptide binding. Interestingly, PIP2 and PS become colocalized into domains both in the presence and absence of MARCKS-ED. More broadly, this work offers molecular insights into the effects of membrane composition on binding.

Probing the Hydrophobic Region of a Lipid Bilayer at Specific Depths Using Vibrational Spectroscopy

A novel spectroscopic approach for studying the flexibility and mobility in the hydrophobic interior of lipid bilayers at specific depths is proposed. A set of test compounds featuring an azido moiety and a cyano or carboxylic acid moiety, connected by an alkyl chain of different lengths, was synthesized. FTIR data and molecular dynamics calculations indicated that the test compounds in a bilayer are oriented so that the cyano or carboxylic acid moiety is located in the lipid head-group region, while the azido group stays inside the bilayer at the depth determined by its alkyl chain length. We found that the asymmetric stretching mode of the azido group (νN3) can serve as a reporter of the membrane interior dynamics. FTIR and two-dimensional infrared (2DIR) studies were performed at different temperatures, ranging from 22 to 45 °C, covering the Lβ-Lα phase transition temperature of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (∼41 °C). The width of the νN3 peak was found to be very sensitive to the phase transition and to the temperature in general. We introduced an order parameter, SN3, which characterizes restrictions to motion inside the bilayer. 2DIR spectra of νN3 showed different extents of inhomogeneity at different depths in the bilayer, with the smallest inhomogeneity in the middle of the leaflet. The spectral diffusion dynamics of the N3 peak was found to be dependent on the depth of the N3 group location in the bilayer. The obtained results enhance our understanding of the bilayer dynamics and can be extended to investigate membranes with more complex compositions.

Sponge-phase Lipid Droplets as Synthetic Organelles: An Ultrafast Study of Hydrogen Bonding and Interfacial Environments

Bottom-up design of biomimetic organelles has gained recent attention as a route towards understanding the transition between non-living matter and life. Despite various artificial lipid membranes being developed, the specific relations between lipid structure, composition, interfacial properties, and morphology are not currently understood. Sponge-phase droplets contain dense, nonlamellar lipid bilayer networks that capture the complexities of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), making them ideal artificial models of such organelles. Here, we combine ultrafast two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the interfacial H-bond networks in sponge-phase droplets composed of glycolipid and nonionic detergents. In the sponge phase, the interfacial environments are more hydrated and water molecules confined to the nanometer-scale aqueous channels in the sponge phase exhibit dynamics that are significantly slower compared to bulk water. Surfactant configurations and microscopic phase separation play a dominant role in determining membrane curvature and slow dynamics observed in the sponge phase. The studies suggest that H-bond networks within the nanometer-scale channels are disrupted not only by confinement but also by the interactions of surfactants, which extend 1-2 nm from the bilayer surface. The results provide a molecular-level description for controlling phase and morphology in the design of synthetic lipid organelles.

Stereocomplexed microparticles loaded with Salvia cadmica Boiss. extracts for enhancement of immune response towards Helicobacter pylori

Controlled delivery of therapeutic substance gives numerous advantages (prevents degradation, improves uptake, sustains concentration, lowers side effects). To encapsulate Salvia cadmica extracts (root or aerial part), enriched with polyphenols with immunomodulatory activity, in stereocomplexed microparticles (sc-PLA), for using them to enhance the immune response towards gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori. Microparticles were made of biodegradable poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(D-lactic acid) (PDLA). Their stereocomplexation was used to form microspheres and enhance the stability of the obtained particles in acidic/basic pH. The release of Salvia cadmica extracts was done in different pH (5.5, 7.4 and 8.0). The obtained polymers are safe in vitro and in vivo (guinea pig model). The sc-PLA microparticles release of S. cadmica extracts in pH 5.5, 7.4, and 8.0. S. cadmica extracts enhanced the phagocytic activity of guinea pig bone marrow-derived macrophages, which was diminished by H. pylori, and neutralized H. pylori driven enhanced production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-10. The sc-PLA encapsulated S. cadmica extracts can be recommended for further in vivo study in guinea pigs infected with H. pylori to confirm their ability to improve an immune response towards this pathogen.

Dehydration does not affect lipid-based hydration lubrication

Phosphatidylcholine (PC) lipid bilayers at surfaces massively reduce sliding friction, via the hydration lubrication mechanism acting at their highly-hydrated phosphocholine headgroups, a central paradigm of biological lubrication, particularly at articular cartilage surfaces where low friction is crucial for joint well-being. Nanotribological measurements probed the effect on such lubrication of dehydration by dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), known to strongly dehydrate the phosphocholine headgroups of such PC bilayers, i.e. reduce the thickness of the inter-bilayer water layer, and thus expected to substantially degrade the hydration lubrication. Remarkably, and unexpectedly, we found that the dehydration has little effect on the friction. We used several approaches, including atomic force microscopy, small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering and all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate this. Our results show that while DMSO clearly removes hydration water from the lipid head-groups, this is offset by both higher areal head-group density and by rigidity-enhancement of the lipid bilayers, both of which act to reduce frictional dissipation. This sheds strong light on the robustness of lipid-based hydration lubrication in biological systems, despite the ubiquitous presence of bio-osmolytes which compete for hydration water.

A comparative study of interfacial environments in lipid nanodiscs and vesicles

Membrane protein conformations and dynamics are driven by the protein-lipid interactions occurring within the local environment of the membrane. These environments remain challenging to accurately capture in structural and biophysical experiments using bilayers. Consequently, there is an increasing need for realistic cell-membrane mimetics for in vitro studies. Lipid nanodiscs provide certain advantages over vesicles for membrane protein studies. Nanodiscs are increasingly used for structural and spectroscopic characterization of membrane proteins. Despite the common use of nanodiscs, the interfacial environments of lipids confined to a ~10-nm diameter area have remained relatively underexplored. Here, we use ultrafast two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy and temperature-dependent infrared absorption measurements of the ester carbonyls to compare the interfacial hydrogen bond structure and dynamics in lipid nanodiscs of varying lipid compositions and sizes with ~100-nm vesicles. We examine the effects of lipid composition and nanodisc size. We found that nanodiscs and vesicles share largely similar lipid-water H-bond environments and interfacial dynamics. Differences in measured enthalpies of H-bonding suggest that H-bond dynamics in nanodiscs are modulated by the interaction between the annular lipids and the scaffold protein.

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.

UV-DIB: label-free permeability determination using droplet interface bilayers

Simple diffusion of molecular entities through a phospholipid bilayer, is a phenomenon of great importance to the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. Current model lipid systems to probe this typically only employ fluorescence as a readout, thus limiting the range of assessable chemical matter that can be studied. We report a new technology platform, the UV-DIB, which facilitates label free measurement of small molecule translocation rates. This is based upon the coupling of droplet interface bilayer technology with implemented fiber optics to facilitate analysis via ultraviolet spectroscopy, in custom designed PMMA wells. To improve on current DIB technology, the platform was designed to be reusable, with a high sampling rate and a limit of UV detection in the low μM regime. We demonstrate the use of our system to quantify passive diffusion in a reproducible and rapid manner where the system was validated by investigating multiple permeants of varying physicochemical properties across a range of lipid interfaces, each demonstrating differing kinetics. Our system permits the interrogation of structural dependence on the permeation rate of a given compound. We present this ability from two structural perspectives, that of the membrane, and the permeant. We observed a reduction in permeability between pure DOPC and DPhPC interfaces, concurring with literature and demonstrating our ability to study the effects of lipid composition on permeability. In relation to the effects of permeant structure, our device facilitated the rank ordering of various compounds from the xanthine class of compounds, where the structure of each permeant differed by a single group alteration. We found that DIBs were stable up to 5% DMSO, a molecule often used to aid solubilisation of pharmaceutical and agrochemical compounds. The ability of our device to rank-order compounds with such minor structural differences provides a level of precision that is rarely seen in current, industrially applied technologies.

Interfacial dynamics in inverted-headgroup lipid membranes

Inverted-headgroup (choline-phosphate) lipids are synthetic lipids that are not found in nature and are used as model systems to understand the role of headgroup dipole orientation. Recently, studies revealed that the net orientation of interfacial water strongly depends on the headgroup electrostatics, i.e., the charges and dipole generated by the phosphate and the choline groups. In order to characterize interfacial H-bond dynamics, we measured two-dimensional infrared spectra of the ester carbonyl band and performed molecular dynamics simulations in fully hydrated 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and 2-((2,3-bis(oleoyloxy)propyl)-dimethyl-ammonio)ethyl ethyl phosphate (DOCPe) lipid bilayers. The experiments and simulations suggest that the reverse dipole generated by the inverted-headgroup in DOCPe does not affect the carbonyl H-bond populations or the interfacial water H-bond dynamics. However, while phosphate-associated waters in both lipids appear to show a similar H-bond structure, carbonyl-associated waters are characterized by a slightly disrupted H-bond structure in the DOCPe bilayer, especially within the second hydration shell. Our findings show that changes in net water orientation perturb the water H-bonds at the linker region between the headgroup and the lipid tail, although this perturbation is weak.

Solvent Effects on Ultrafast Photochemical Pathways

Photochemical reactions are increasingly being used for chemical and materials synthesis, for example, in photoredox catalysis, and generally involve photoexcitation of molecular chromophores dissolved in a liquid solvent. The choice of solvent influences the outcomes of the photochemistry because solute-solvent interactions modify the energies of and crossings between electronic states of the chromophores, and they affect the evolving structures of the photoexcited molecules. Ultrafast laser spectroscopy methods with femtosecond to picosecond time resolution can resolve the dynamics of these photoexcited molecules as they undergo structural and electronic changes, relax back to the ground state, dissipate their excess internal energy to the surrounding solvent, or undergo photochemical reactions. In this Account, we illustrate how experimental studies using ultrafast lasers can reveal the influences that different solvents or cosolutes exert on the photoinduced nonadiabatic dynamics of internal conversion and intersystem crossing in nonradiative relaxation pathways. Although the environment surrounding a solute molecule is rapidly changing, with fluctuations in the coordination to neighboring solvent molecules occurring on femtosecond or picosecond time scales, we show that it is possible to photoexcite selectively only those molecular chromophores transiently experiencing specific solute-solvent interactions such as intermolecular hydrogen bonding.The effects of different solvation environments on the photodynamics are illustrated using four selected examples of photochemical processes in which the solvent has a marked effect on the outcomes. We first consider two aromatic carbonyl compounds, benzophenone and acetophenone, which are known to undergo fast intersystem crossing to populate the first excited triplet state on time scales of a few picoseconds. We show that the nonadiabatic excited-state dynamics are modified by transient hydrogen bonding of the carbonyl group to a protic solvent or by coordination to a metal cation cosolute. We then examine how different solvents modify the competition between two alternative relaxation pathways in a photoexcited UVA-sunscreen molecule, diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl hexyl benzoate (DHHB). This relaxation back to the ground electronic state is an essential part of the effective operation of the sunscreen compound, but the dynamics are sensitive to the surrounding environment. Finally, we consider how solvents of different polarity affect the energies and lifetimes of excited states with locally excited or charge-transfer character in heterocyclic organic compounds used as excited-state electron donors for photoredox catalysis. With these and other examples, we seek to develop a molecular level understanding of how the choice of solution environment might be used to control the outcomes of photochemical reactions.

Molecular Mechanism of Cell Membrane Protection by Sugars: A Study of Interfacial H-Bond Networks

Sugars function as bioprotectants by stabilizing biomolecules during dehydration, thermal stress, and freeze-thaw cycles. A buildup of sugars occurs in many organisms upon their exposure to extreme conditions. Understanding sugar's bioprotective effects on membranes is achieved by characterizing the H-bond networks at the lipid-water interface. Here, we report the headgroup H-bond populations, structures, and dynamics of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine vesicles in concentrated glucose solutions using ultrafast two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy in conjunction with molecular dynamics simulations. H-Bond populations and dynamics at the ester carbonyl positions are largely unaffected even at very high, 600 mg/mL, sugar concentrations. In addition, dynamics exhibit a slight nonmonotonic dependence on sugar concentration. Simulations, which are in near-quantitative agreement with measured dynamics, show that the H-bond structure remains largely intact by the existence of sugar. This study shows that the bioprotection of sugar is realized through stable lipid-saccharide-water H-bond networks at the membrane interface that mimic the H-bond networks in pure water.

Structural dynamics and vibrational feature of N-Acetyl-d-glucosamine in aqueous solution

Molecular dynamics simulations and DFT calculations were performed for the demonstration of the structural dynamics and vibrational feature of N-Acetyl-d-glucosamine (NAG) in solution phase. The interactions between NAG and solvent molecules were evaluated through spatial distribution function and radial distribution function, and the preferred conformations of NAG in aqueous solution were revealed by cluster analysis. Results from normal mode analysis show that the solvent induced structural fluctuation of NAG could be reflected in the vibrational feature of specific chromophores, thus we can evaluate the molecular structure with the help of its vibrational signature based on the built correlation between molecular structure and vibrational frequencies of specific groups.

Bursting the bubble: A molecular understanding of surfactant-water interfaces

Surfactant science has historically emphasized bulk, thermodynamic measurements to understand the microemulsion properties of greatest industrial significance, such as interfacial tensions, phase behavior, and thermal stability. Recently, interest in the molecular properties of surfactants has grown among the physical chemistry community. This has led to the application of cutting-edge spectroscopic methods and advanced simulations to understand the specific interactions that give rise to the previously studied bulk characteristics. In this Perspective, we catalog key findings that describe the surfactant-oil and surfactant-water interfaces in molecular detail. We emphasize the role of ultrafast spectroscopic methods, including two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy and sum-frequency-generation spectroscopy, in conjunction with molecular dynamics simulations, and the role these techniques have played in advancing our understanding of interfacial properties in surfactant microemulsions.

A Comparative Study on DMSO-Induced Modulation of the Structural and Dynamical Properties of Model Bilayer Membranes

Modulating the structures and properties of biomembranes via permeation of small amphiphilic molecules is immensely important, having diverse applications in cell biology, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals, because their physiochemical and biological interactions lead to new pathways for transdermal drug delivery and administration. In this work, we have elucidated the role of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), broadly used as a penetration-enhancing agent and cryoprotective agent on model lipid membranes, using a combination of fluorescence microscopy and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. Spatially resolved fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) has been employed to unravel how the fluidity of the DMSO-induced bilayer regulates the structural alteration of the vesicles. Moreover, we have also shown that the dehydration effect of DMSO leads to weakening of the hydrogen bond between lipid headgroups and water molecules and results in faster solvation dynamics as demonstrated by femtosecond time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. It has been gleaned that the water dynamics becomes faster because bilayer rigidity decreases in the presence of DMSO, which is also supported by time-resolved rotational anisotropy measurements. The enhanced diffusivity and increased membrane fluidity in the presence of DMSO are further ratified at the single-molecule level through fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) measurements. Our results indicate that while the presence of DMSO significantly affects the 1,2-dimyristoyl-rac-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-rac-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bilayers, it has a weak effect on 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-rac-glycerol (DMPG) vesicles, which might explain the preferential interaction of DMSO with the positively charged choline group present in DMPC and DPPC vesicles. The experimental findings have also been further verified with molecular dynamics simulation studies. Moreover, it has been observed that DMSO is likely to have a differential effect on heterogeneous bilayer membranes depending on the structure and composition of their headgroups. Our results illuminate the importance of probing the lipid structure and composition of cellular membranes in determining the effects of cryoprotective agents.

Phonon-mediated lipid raft formation in biological membranes

Short-wavelength collective molecular motions, also known as phonons, have recently attracted much interest in revealing dynamic properties of biological membranes through the use of neutron and X-ray scattering, infrared and Raman spectroscopies, and molecular dynamics simulations. Experimentally detecting unique vibrational patterns such as, shear phonon excitations, viscoelastic crossovers, transverse acoustic phonon gaps, and continuous and truncated optical phonon modes in cellular membranes, to name a few, has proven non-trivial. Here, we review recent advances in liquid thermodynamics that have resulted in the development of the phonon theory of liquids. The theory has important predictions regarding the shear vibrational spectra of fluids, namely the emergence of viscoelastic crossovers and transverse acoustic phonon gaps. Furthermore, we show that these vibrational patterns are common in soft (non-crystalline) materials, including, but not limited to liquids, colloids, liquid crystals (mesogens), block copolymers, and biological membranes. The existence of viscoelastic crossovers and acoustic phonon gaps define the self-diffusion properties of cellular membranes and provide a molecular picture of the transient nature of lipid rafts (Bolmatov et al., 2020). Importantly, the timescales (picoseconds) for the formation and dissolution of transient lipid rafts match the lifetime of the formation and breakdown of interfacial water hydrogen bonds. Apart from acoustic propagating phonon modes, biological membranes can also support more energetic non-propagating optical phonon excitations, also known as standing waves or breathing modes. Importantly, optical phonons can be truncated due to the existence of finite size nanodomains made up of strongly correlated lipid-cholesterol molecular pairs. These strongly coupled molecular pairs can serve as nucleation centers for the formation of stable rafts at larger length scales, due to correlations of spontaneous fluctuations (Onsager's regression hypothesis). Finally and importantly, molecular level viscoelastic crossovers, acoustic phonon gaps, and continuous and truncated optical phonon modes may offer insights as to how lipid-lipid and lipid-protein interactions enable biological function.

Ultrafast Dynamics at Lipid-Water Interfaces

Lipid membranes are more than just barriers between cell compartments; they provide molecular environments with a finely tuned balance between hydrophilic and hydrophobic interactions that enable proteins to dynamically fold and self-assemble to regulate biological function. Characterizing dynamics at the lipid-water interface is essential to understanding molecular complexities from the thermodynamics of liquid-liquid phase separation down to picosecond-scale reorganization of interfacial hydrogen-bond networks.Ultrafast vibrational spectroscopy, including two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) and vibrational sum-frequency generation (VSFG) spectroscopies, is a powerful tool to examine picosecond interfacial dynamics. Two-dimensional IR spectroscopy provides a bond-centered view of dynamics with subpicosecond time resolutions, as vibrational frequencies are highly sensitive to the local environment. Recently, 2D IR spectroscopy has been applied to carbonyl and phosphate vibrations intrinsically located at the lipid-water interface. Interface-specific VSFG spectroscopy probes the water vibrational modes directly, accessing H-bond strength and water organization at lipid headgroup positions. Signals in VSFG arise from the interfacial dipole contributions, directly probing headgroup ordering and water orientation to provide a structural view of the interface.In this Account we discuss novel applications of ultrafast spectroscopy to lipid membranes, a field that has experienced significant growth over the past decade. In particular, ultrafast experiments now offer a molecular perspective on increasingly complex membranes. The powerful combination of ultrafast, interface-selective spectroscopy and simulations opens up new routes to understanding multicomponent membranes and their function. This Account highlights key prevailing views that have emerged from recent experiments: (1) Water dynamics at the lipid-water interface are slow compared to those of bulk water as a result of disrupted H-bond networks near the headgroups. (2) Peptides, ions, osmolytes, and cosolvents perturb interfacial dynamics, indicating that dynamics at the interface are affected by bulk solvent dynamics and vice versa. (3) The interfacial environment is generally dictated by the headgroup structure and orientation, but hydrophobic interactions within the acyl chains also modulate interfacial dynamics. Ultrafast spectroscopy has been essential to characterizing the biophysical chemistry of the lipid-water interface; however, challenges remain in interpreting congested spectra as well as designing appropriate model systems to capture the complexity of a membrane environment.