Water molecule packing

Ice floats because the molecules are in an open lattice rather than close-packed. Garrett and Grisham (in their text. Biochemistry, 2nd ed.) note that close-packed water molecules would only occupy about 57% of the volume of ice. This would lead one to expect that ice would float "high." It doesn t because most of the structure remains in the liquid phase at 0 C.)... 

In Table 5.3, is compared with the total hydroxyl concentration (Ni, + N ) of the corresponding fully hydroxylated, sample. The results clearly demonstrate that the physical adsorption is determined by the total hydroxyl content of the surface, showing the adsorption to be localized. It is useful to note that the BET monolayer capacity n JH2O) (= N ) of the water calculated from the water isotherm by the BET procedure corresponds to approximately 1 molecule of water per hydroxyl group, and so provides a convenient means of estimating the hydroxyl concentration on the surface. Since the adsorption is localized, n.(H20) does not, of course, denote a close-packed layer of water molecules. Indeed, the area occupied per molecule of water is determined by the structure of the silica, and is uJH2O) 20A ... 

The secondary and tertiary structures of myoglobin and ribonuclease A illustrate the importance of packing in tertiary structures. Secondary structures pack closely to one another and also intercalate with (insert between) extended polypeptide chains. If the sum of the van der Waals volumes of a protein s constituent amino acids is divided by the volume occupied by the protein, packing densities of 0.72 to 0.77 are typically obtained. This means that, even with close packing, approximately 25% of the total volume of a protein is not occupied by protein atoms. Nearly all of this space is in the form of very small cavities. Cavities the size of water molecules or larger do occasionally occur, but they make up only a small fraction of the total protein volume. It is likely that such cavities provide flexibility for proteins and facilitate conformation changes and a wide range of protein dynamics (discussed later). 

Water [579] is present in the structure of true crystalline hydrates [580] either as ligands co-ordinated with the cation (e.g. [Cu(OH2)4]2+ in CuS04 5 H20) or accommodated outside this co-ordination sphere within voids left in anion packing, further stabilized by hydrogen bonding (e.g. the remaining water molecule in CuS04 5 H20). 

The (en) compound developed nuclei which advanced rapidly across all surfaces of the reactant crystals and thereafter penetrated the bulk more slowly. Kinetic data fitted the contracting volume equation [eqn. (7), n = 3] and values of E (67—84 kJ mole"1) varied somewhat with the particle size of the reactant and the prevailing atmosphere. Nucleus formation in the (pn) compound was largely confined to the (100) surfaces of reactant crystallites and interface advance proceeded as a contracting area process [eqn. (7), n = 2], It was concluded that layers of packed propene groups within the structure were not penetrated by water molecules and the overall reaction rate was controlled by the diffusion of H20 to (100) surfaces. 

Fig. 8.—Packing arrangement of four symmetry-related 2-fold helices of mannan II (6). (a) Stereo view of two unit cells approximately normal to flic frc-plane. The two chains in the back (open bonds) and the two in the front (filled bonds) are linked successively by 6-0H-- 0-6 bonds. The front and back chains, both at left and right, are further connected by 0-2 -1V -0-2 bridges, (h) Projection of the unit cell along the c-axis the a-axis is down the page. This highlights the two sets of interchain hydrogen bonds between antiparallel chains, distinguished by filled and open bonds. The crossed circles are water molecules at special positions.

Fig. 9. — Antiparallel packing arrangement of the 3-fold helices of (1— 4)-(3-D-xylan (7). (a) Stereo view of two unit cells roughly normal to the helix axis and along the short diagonal of the ab-plane. The two helices, distinguished by filled and open bonds, are connected via water (crossed circles) bridges. Cellulose type 3-0H-0-5 hydrogen bonds stabilize each helix, (b) A view of the unit cell projected along the r-axis highlights that the closeness of the water molecules to the helix axis enables them to link adjacent helices.

Fig. 13.—Packing arrangement of extended, 6-fold, KOH-amylose (11) helices, (a) Stereo view of two unit cells approximately normal to the ftc-plane. The helix (filled bonds) at the center is antiparallel to the two helices (open bonds) at the comers in the back. Potassium ions (crossed circles) have water molecules (open circles) and hydroxyl groups from amylose helices as ligands.

Fig. 13. (continued)—(b) A c-axis projection of the unit cell shows that the amylose helices are packed tightly, aided by ions and water molecules. 

Fig. 19.—Antiparallel packing arrangement of 2-fold poly(GulA) (16) helices, a) Stereo view of two unit cells roughly normal to the fee-plane. The helix at the center (filled bonds) is antiparallel to the two in the back (open bonds). Intrachain hydrogen bonds stabilize each helix. Association of antiparallel helices involves the carboxylate groups and water molecules (crossed circles).

---