Trehalose is a naturally occurring disaccharide known to remarkably stabilize biomacromolecules in the biologically active state. The stabilizing effect is typically observed over a large concentration range and affects many macromolecules including proteins, lipids, and DNA. Of special interest is the transition from aqueous solution to the dense and highly concentrated glassy state of trehalose that has been implicated in bioadaptation of different organisms toward desiccation stress. Although several mechanisms have been suggested to link the structure of the low water content glass with its action as an exceptional stabilizer, studies are ongoing to resolve which are most pertinent. Specifically, the role that hydrogen bonding plays in the formation of the glass is not well resolved. Here we model aqueous trehalose mixtures over a wide concentration range, using molecular dynamics simulations with two available force fields. Both force fields indicate glass transition temperatures and osmotic pressures that are close to experimental values, particularly at high trehalose contents. We develop and employ a methodology that allows us to analyze the thermodynamics of hydrogen bonds in simulations at different water contents and temperatures. Remarkably, this analysis is able to link the liquid to glass transition with changes in hydrogen bond characteristics. Most notably, the onset of the glassy state can be quantitatively related to the transition from weakly to strongly correlated hydrogen bonds. Our findings should help resolve the properties of the glass and the mechanisms of its formation in the presence of added macromolecules.

Biophysical chemistry is a branch of the multidisciplinary study of biophysics. The field is devoted to a quantitative analysis of biological systems using experimental, theoretical, and computational tools. In contrast to a physics-centered approach for biophysics that deals with forces and scaling laws, or a biology-centered view that deals with the phenotype of the studied system, biophysical chemistry focuses on the molecular level. Unlike biochemistry, which often focuses on chemical reactions driving biological systems, biophysical chemistry is aimed at the collection and analysis of quantitative data to provide predictive physical models describing biological phenomena occurring at the molecular level. Biophysical chemistry aims to bridge the physical and biological disciplines: in biological systems physical forces and interactions are mediated through molecules, which ultimately
determine phenotype. The experimental and theoretical tools of biophysical chemistry have demonstrated significant success in unraveling multiple basic molecular mechanisms that govern biological processes. Here we highlight some of the important contemporary areas and questions currently studied in the field of biophysical chemistry. Since molecules are at the center of this study, we focus our discussion on three classes of molecules essential for all living organisms: proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids.

The aggregation of drugs and nutraceuticals in aqueous media is an outstanding problem for their efficacy and bioavailability. A common solution is to add excipients or hydrotropes that increase solubility and limit aggregation. Here we study caffeine, a widely consumed drug that undergoes oligomerization and aggregation in aqueous solutions. Combining partition and solubility experiments with molecular dynamics simulations, we determined the effect of sugars (mono- and disaccharides) on caffeine self-association and solubility. We find that sugars selectively increase the concentration of caffeine in its monomeric state, but decrease its solubility in all oligomeric forms. Thus we determine that, in contrast to common hydrotropes, sugars act as selective hydrotropes toward caffeine, since they differentially act on specific solvated forms of the drug. We furthermore unravel the molecular mechanism for this selectivity, and comment on the general design principles that should help develop targeted excipients for bioavailability and taste modification in drugs and foods.

Advances over the past decade have made it possible to extract elastic constants of lipid assemblies from molecular dynamics simulations. We summarize existing strategies for obtaining membrane elastic moduli and clarify the differences in the underlying approaches. We analyze these strategies in depth, including several important advantages and limitations. By addressing these limitations, we obtain a newly formulated spatially local methodology for extracting bending and tilt moduli: The Real Space Instantaneous Surface Method (ReSIS). With its freely available implementation, this method is designed for highly dynamic systems with arbitrary interface geometries. We demonstrate how the method provides consistent results for membranes of arbitrary size. In addition, we describe alternative implementations of various Fourier-space methods, and use these to compare the results from the different available methods and from published computational data. We specifically focus on the tilt modulus, where very large differences between Fourier and real-space based methods are observed, including those derived using ReSIS. These discrepancies are likely due to the known difference between model moduli and thermodynamic moduli that are derived from the corresponding response functions. In addition, we reexamine the issue of angular degeneracy and its effect on conformational ensembles. Finally, a van ’t Hoff analysis of the tilt and bending moduli reveals that both modes act as entropic springs and that enthalpy favors nonzero tilt, perhaps heralding the spontaneous lipid chain tilt of the gel phase at lower temperatures.

Dramatic increase in NaCl consumption lead to sodium intake beyond health guidelines. KCl substitution helps reduce sodium intake but results in a bitter-metallic off-taste. Two disaccharides, trehalose and sucrose, were tested in order to untangle the chemical (increase in effective concentraion of KCl due to sugar addition) from the sensory effects. The bitter-metallic taste of KCl was reduced by these sugars, while saltiness was enhanced or unaltered. The perceived sweetness of sugar, regardless of its type and concentration, was an important factor in KCl taste modulation. Though KCl was previously shown to increase the chemical activity of trehalose but not of sucrose, we found that it suppressed the perceived sweetness of both sugars. Therefore, sensory integration was the dominant factor in the tested KCl-sugar combinations.

Under environmental duress, many organisms accumulate large amounts of osmolytes – molecularly small organic solutes. Osmolytes are known to counteract stress, driving proteins to their compact native states by their exclusion from protein surfaces. In contrast, the effect of osmolytes on lipid membranes is poorly understood and widely debated. Many fully membrane-permeable osmolytes exert an apparent attractive force between lipid membranes, yet all proposed models fail to fully account for the origin of this force. We follow the quintessential osmolyte trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) and its interaction with dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) membranes in aqueous solution. We find that by partitioning away from the inter-bilayer space, TMAO pushes adjacent membranes closer together. Experiments and simulations further show that the partitioning of TMAO away from the volume between bilayers stems from its exclusion from the lipid–water interface, similar to the mechanism of protein stabilization by osmolytes. We extend our analysis to show that the preferential interaction of other physiologically relevant solutes (including sugars and DMSO) also correlates with their effect on membrane bilayer interactions. Our study resolves a long-standing puzzle, explaining how osmolytes can increase membrane– membrane attraction or repulsion depending on their preferential interactions with lipids.