Though the electrostatic, ionic, van der Waals, Lennard-Jones, hydrogen bonding, and other forces play an important role in the energy function minimized at a protein's native state, it is widely believed that the hydrophobic force is the dominant term in protein folding. Here we attempt to quantify the extent to which the hydrophobic force determines the positions of the backbone alpha-carbon ...

Most persistent organic pollutants, due to their hydrophobic properties, accumulate in aquatic sediments and represent a high risk for sediment quality. To assess the toxicity of hydrophobic pollutants, a novel approach was recently proposed as an alternative to replace, refine and reduce animal experimentation: the medaka embryo-larval sediment contact assay (MELAc). This assay is performed wi...

Noncovalent interactions are ubiquitous in molecular and condensed-phase environments, and hence a reliable theoretical description of these fundamental interactions could pave the way toward a more complete understanding of the microscopic underpinnings for a diverse set of systems in chemistry and biology. In this work, we demonstrate that recent algorithmic advances coupled to the availabili...

Controlling the metal-organic framework (MOF)-matrix interface is a useful strategy to improve gas separation performance of mixed matrix membranes (MMMs). Although polymer blending has been investigated enhance MMM performances, its true strength, i.e., aligning and additive chemistries interfacial compatibility ultimately performance, only poorly investigated. In this work we demonstrate how ...

Uptake of alkane (C5-C9) and alcohol (C4-C7) solutes by both strong acid cation exchange resins and strong base anion exchange resins in aqueous medium has been studied. The amount of solute taken up by resins is directly proportional to the solute concentration equilibrium with resins. Hydrophobic interaction between the solute and the resin matrix appears to play an important role in the upta...