Ion Pairing and Dielectric Decrement in Glycosaminoglycan Brushes

Molecular dynamics simulations of hyaluronic acid and heparin brushes are presented that show important effects of ion-pairing, water dielectric decrease, and co-ion exclusion. Results show equilibria with electroneutrality attained through screening and pairing of brush anionic charges by cations. Most surprising is the reversal of the Donnan potential that would be expected based on electrostatic Boltzmann partitioning alone. Water dielectric decrement within the brush domain is also associated with Born hydration-driven cation exclusion from the brush. We observe that the primary partition energy attracting cations to attain brush electroneutrality is the ion-pairing or salt-bridge energy associated with cation-sulfate and cation-carboxylate solvent-separated and contact ion pairs. Potassium and sodium pairing to glycosaminoglycan carboxylates and sulfates consistently show similar abundance of contact-pairing and solvent-separated pairing. In these crowded macromolecular brushes, ion-pairing, Born-hydration, and electrostatic potential energies all contribute to attain electroneutrality and should therefore contribute in mean-field models to accurately represent brush electrostatics.

Ion Pairing and Dielectric Decrement in Glycosaminoglycan Brushes

Molecular dynamics simulations of hyaluronic acid and heparin brushes are presented that show important effects of ion-pairing, water dielectric decrease, and co-ion exclusion. Results show equilibria with electroneutrality attained through screening and pairing of brush anionic charges by cations. Most surprising is the reversal of the Donnan potential that would be expected based on electrostatic Boltzmann partitioning alone. Water dielectric decrement within the brush domain is also associated with Born hydration-driven cation exclusion from the brush. We observe that the primary partition energy attracting cations to attain brush electroneutrality is the ion-pairing or salt-bridge energy associated with cation-sulfate and cation-carboxylate solvent-separated and contact ion pairs. Potassium and sodium pairing to glycosaminoglycan carboxylates and sulfates consistently show similar abundance of contact-pairing and solvent-separated pairing. In these crowded macromolecular brushes, ion-pairing, Born-hydration, and electrostatic potential energies all contribute to attain electroneutrality and should therefore contribute in mean-field models to accurately represent brush electrostatics.

Ion Pairing and Dielectric Decrement in Glycosaminoglycan Brushes

Molecular dynamics simulations of hyaluronic acid and heparin brushes are presented that show important effects of ion-pairing, water dielectric decrease, and co-ion exclusion. Results show equilibria with electroneutrality attained through screening and pairing of brush anionic charges by cations. Most surprising is the reversal of the Donnan potential that would be expected based on electrostatic Boltzmann partitioning alone. Water dielectric decrement within the brush domain is also associated with Born hydration-driven cation exclusion from the brush. We observe that the primary partition energy attracting cations to attain brush electroneutrality is the ion-pairing or salt-bridge energy associated with cation-sulfate and cation-carboxylate solvent-separated and contact ion pairs. Potassium and sodium pairing to glycosaminoglycan carboxylates and sulfates consistently show similar abundance of contact-pairing and solvent-separated pairing. In these crowded macromolecular brushes, ion-pairing, Born-hydration, and electrostatic potential energies all contribute to attain electroneutrality and should therefore contribute in mean-field models to accurately represent brush electrostatics.

Aqueous Contact Ion Pairs of Phosphate Groups with Na+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ – Structural Discrimination by Femtosecond Infrared Spectroscopy and Molecular Dynamics Simulations

The extent of contact and solvent shared ion pairs of phosphate groups with Na+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions in aqueous environment and their relevance for the stability of polyanionic DNA and RNA structures is highly debated. Employing the asymmetric phosphate stretching vibration of dimethyl phosphate (DMP), a model system of the sugar-phosphate backbone of DNA and RNA, we present linear infrared, femtosecond infrared pump-probe and absorptive 2D-IR spectra that report on contact ion pair formation via the presence of blue shifted spectral signatures. Compared to the linear infrared spectra, the nonlinear spectra reveal contact ion pairs with increased sensitivity because the spectra accentuate differences in peak frequency, transition dipole moment strength, and excited state lifetime. The experimental results are corroborated by long time scale MD simulations, benchmarked by density functional simulations on phosphate-ion-water clusters. The microscopic interpretation reveals subtle structural differences of ion pairs formed by the phosphate group and the ions Na+, Ca2+ and Mg2+. Intricate properties of the solvation shell around the phosphate group and the ion are essential to explain the experimental observations. The present work addresses a challenging to probe topic with the help of a model system and establishes new experimental data of contact ion pair formation, thereby underlining the potential of nonlinear 2D-IR spectroscopy as an analytical probe of phosphate-ion interactions in complex biological systems.

Cooperativity and ion pairing in magnesium sulfate aqueous solutions from the dilute regime to the solubility limit

A combined THz and simulation study on MgSO4 find no contact ion pairs in highly concentrated solutions.

Towards the understanding of acetonitrile suppressing salt precipitation mechanism in a water-in-salt electrolyte for low-temperature supercapacitors

Acetonitrile suppressing precipitation of NaClO4 originates from transforming the cation–anion aggregate structure to contact ion pairs and/or solvent separated ion pairs.

Interactions of Na+ Cations with a Highly Charged Fatty Acid Langmuir Monolayer: Molecular Description of the Phase Transition

Vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy has been used to study the molecular properties upon compression of a highly charged arachidic acid Langmuir monolayer, which displays a first order phase transition plateau in the surface pressure - molecular area (p-A) isotherm. By targeting vibrational modes from the carboxylic acid headgroup, alkyl chain, and interfacial water molecules, information regarding the surface charge, surface potential, type of ion pair formed, and conformational order of the monolayer could be extracted. The monolayer in the liquid expanded phase is found to be fully charged until reaching the 2D-phase transition plateau, where partial reprotonation, as well as the formation of COO⎺ Na⁺contact-ion pairs, start to take place. In the condensed phase after the transition, three headgroup species, mainly hydrated COO⎺, COOH, and COO⎺ Na⁺contact-ion pairs could be identified and their proportions quantified. Comparison with theoretical models shows that despite the low ionic strengths used (i.e. 10 mM), the predictions from the Gouy Chapman model are only adequate for the lowest surface densities, when the surface charge does not exceed -0.1 C/m². In contrast, a modified Poisson-Boltzmann (MPB) model that accounts for the steric effects associated with the finite ion-size, captures many of the experimental observables, including the partial reprotonation, and surface potential changes upon compression. The agreement highlights the importance of hydronium ion – carboxylate interactions, as well as the layer of sodium ions packed at the steric limit, for explaining the phase transition behavior. The MPB model, however, does not explicitly consider the formation of contact ion pairs with the sodium counterion. The experimental results provide a quantitative molecular insight that could be used to test potential extensions to the theory.