Reduction of the hydrophobic attraction between charged solutes in water

The solvation of charged, nanometer-sized spherical solutes in water, and the effective, solvent-induced force between two such solutes are investigated by constant temperature and pressure Molecular Dynamics simulations of model solutes carrying various charge patterns. The results for neutral solutes agree well with earlier findings, and with predictions of simple macroscopic considerations: substantial hydrophobic attraction may be traced back to strong depletion (``drying...

We calculate the effective force between two oppositely charged and similarly charged ions fixed in water as a function of separation distance R. At short separations, R less than 1 nm, the effective force is vastly different from the $1/{\epsilon}_{s}R^2$ dependence advocated by the screened Coulomb force law (SCFL); ${\epsilon}_{s}$ being the static dielectric constant of the medium. We also find an interesting asymmetry in the force between +ve and -ve ions. This breakdown...

We study the interaction potential between two polyions inside a colloidal suspension. It is shown that at large separation the interaction potential is purely repulsive, with the induced attractive interactions being doubly screened. For short separations the condensed counterions become correlated, what leads to an effective attraction between the two macromolecules.

We investigate the mobility of nanometer-size solutes in water in a uniform external electric field. General arguments are presented to show that a closed surface cutting a volume from a polar liquid will carry an effective non-zero surface charge density when preferential orientation of dipoles exists in the interface. This effective charge will experience a non-vanishing drag in an external electric field even in the absence of free charge carriers. Numerical simulations of...

Over the past few decades the experimental literature has consistently reported observations of attraction between like-charged colloidal particles and macromolecules in solution. Examples include nucleic acids and colloidal particles in bulk solution and under confinement, and biological liquid-liquid phase separation. This observation is at odds with the intuitive expectation of an interparticle repulsion that decays monotonically with distance. Although attraction between ...

We study the effective interaction between differently charged polyelectrolyte-colloid complexes in electrolyte solutions via Monte Carlo simulations. These complexes are formed when short and flexible polyelectrolyte chains adsorb onto oppositely charged colloidal spheres, dispersed in an electrolyte solution. In our simulations the bending energy between adjacent monomers is small compared to the electrostatic energy, and the chains, once adsorbed, do not exchange with the ...

We study, using Monte Carlo simulations, the interaction between charged colloidal particles confined to the air-water interface. The dependence of force on ionic strength and counterion valence is explored. For 1:1 electrolyte, we find that the electrostatic interaction at the interface is very close to the one observed in the bulk. On the other hand, for salts with multivalent counterions, an interface produces an enhanced attraction between like charged colloids. Finally, ...

Fundamental studies of the effect of specific ions on hydrophobic interactions are driven by the need to understand phenomena such as hydrophobically driven self-assembly or protein folding. Using beta-peptide-inspired nano-rods, we investigate the effects of both free ions (dissolved salts) and proximally immobilized ions on hydrophobic interactions. We find that the free ion effect is correlated with the water density fluctuation near a non-polar molecular surface, showing ...

Soft matter materials, such as polymers, membranes, proteins, are often electrically charged. This makes them water soluble, which is of great importance in technological application and a prerequisite for biological function. We discuss a few static and dynamic systems that are dominated by charge effects. One class comprises complexation between oppositely charged objects, for example the adsorption of charged ions or charged polymers (such as DNA) on oppositely charged sub...

We examine the force between two charged surfaces immersed in aqueous mixtures having a coexistence curve. For a homogeneous water-poor phase, as the distance between the surfaces is decreased, a water-rich phase condenses at a distance $D_t$ in the range 1-100nm. At this distance the osmotic pressure can become negative leading to a long-range attraction between the surfaces. The osmotic pressure vanishes at a distance $D_e<D_t$, representing a very deep metastable or global...