• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Research topics

Hydrogen-Bond Structure of Model Biological Interfaces

Heterodyne-detected vibrational sum frequency generation (HD-VSFG) is applied to the investigation of hydrogen-bond structure at model biological interfaces, such as the surfactant/water and lipid/water interfaces. It is found that the "up" or "down" orientation of water molecules at these interfaces is dictated by the electric charges of hydrophilic head groups of surfactants and lipids. It is also found that the hydrogen-bond strength of water at these interfaces is similar to that of bulk water.

 

• [1] "Structure and orientation of water at charged lipid monolayer/water interfaces probed by heterodyne-detected vibrational sum frequency generation spectroscopy", J. A. Mondal, S. Nihonyanagi, S. Yamaguchi, and T. Tahara, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 132 (2010) 10656.
• [2] "Water hydrogen bond structure near highly charged interfaces is not like ice", S. Nihonyanagi, S. Yamaguchi, and T. Tahara, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 132 (2010) 6867.