Invited Paper BI+AS-WeM10
Water, Charge and Membrane Interface Stability

Wednesday, November 12, 2014, 11:00 am, Room 317

Life occurs in three dimensional turbid aqueous systems. A cell consists for ~60 % of water and contains many organelles and interfaces. The average distance between two molecules, or a molecule and a membrane interface is approximately 1 nm. The molecular, structural, dynamic, and biological properties of water, aqueous systems and aqueous interfaces are essential in understanding the complexity of life, and our ability to harness its features for novel (nano)technologies.

Here, I will introduce nonlinear light scattering methods that can be used to gain label-free molecular level information about model membrane interfaces in liquid aqueous nanoscopic systems. The use of these methods will be illustrated around the following questions:

• · Does water behave charge asymmetrically?
• · What is the role of water in determining the stability of amphiphilic interfaces?
• · Is the molecular structure of model membranes influenced by the above considerations?