Terahertz spectroscopy as a method for investigation of hydration shells of biomolecules

Abstract

The hydration of biomolecules is one of the fundamental processes underlying the construction of living matter. The formation of the native conformation of most biomolecules is possible only in an aqueous environment. At the same time, not only water affects the structure of biomolecules, but also biomolecules affect the structure of water, forming hydration shells. However, the study of the structure of biomolecules is given much more attention than their hydration shells. A real breakthrough in the study of hydration occurred with the development of the THz spectroscopy method, which showed that the hydration shell of biomolecules is not limited to 1-2 layers of strongly bound water, but also includes more distant areas of hydration with altered molecular dynamics. This review examines the fundamental features of the THz frequency range as a source of information about the structural and dynamic characteristics of water that change during hydration. The applied approaches to the study of hydration shells of biomolecules based on THz spectroscopy are described. The data on the hydration of biomolecules of all main types obtained from the beginning of the application of THz spectroscopy to the present are summarized. The emphasis is placed on the possible participation of extended hydration shells in the realization of the biological functions of biomolecules and at the same time on the insufficient knowledge of their structural and dynamic characteristics.

Keywords: Biomolecules; Hydration of biomolecules; Hydration shells; THz spectroscopy; THz-TDS; Water structure.

Fig. 1

Decomposition of the imaginary part of the dielectric permittivity spectrum of water at 25 °C into bands corresponding to the orientation relaxation of bound and free water molecules, as well as intermolecular stretch vibrations. Bands in a wide frequency range are shown on the left, and in the THz range on the right