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Role of hydration and water structure in biological and colloidal interactions

Nature volume 379, pages 219–225 (1996)Cite this article

Abstract

The conventional explanation of why hydrophilic surfaces and macromolecules remain well separated in water is that they experience a monotonically repulsive hydration force owing to structuring of water molecules at the surfaces. A consideration of recent experimental and theoretical results suggests an alternative interpretation in which hydration forces are either attractive or oscillatory, and where repulsions have a totally different origin. Further experiments are needed to distinguish between these possibilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering and the Materials Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, 93106, USA

    Jacob Israelachvili

  2. Physical Chemistry 1, Chemical Center, University of Lund, PO Box 124, S-22100, Lund, Sweden

    Håkan Wennerström

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  1. Jacob Israelachvili
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  2. Håkan Wennerström
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Israelachvili, J., Wennerström, H. Role of hydration and water structure in biological and colloidal interactions. Nature 379, 219–225 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/379219a0

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