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When a solute is dissolved in water, their mutual interactions determine the molecular properties of the solute on one hand, and the structure and dynamics of the surrounding water particles (the so-called hydration water) on the other. The very existence of soft matter and its peculiar properties are largely due to the wide variety of possible water-solute interactions. In this context, water is not an inert medium but rather an active component, and hydration water plays a crucial role in determining the structure, stability, dynamics, and function of matter. This review focuses on the collective dynamics of hydration water in terms of retardation with respect to the bulk, and of the number of molecules whose dynamics is perturbed. Since water environments are in a dynamic equilibrium, with molecules continuously exchanging from around the solute towards the bulk and vice versa, we examine the ability of different techniques to measure the water dynamics on the basis of the explored time scales and exchange rates. Special emphasis is given to the collective dynamics probed by extended depolarized light scattering and we discuss whether and to what extent the results obtained in aqueous solutions of small molecules can be extrapolated to the case of large biomacromolecules. In fact, recent experiments performed on solutions of increasing complexity clearly indicate that a reductionist approach is not adequate to describe their collective dynamics. We conclude this review by presenting current ideas that are being developed to describe the dynamics of water interacting with macromolecules.

Protein low-frequency vibrational modes are an important portion of a proteins' dynamical repertoire. Yet, it is notoriously difficult to isolate specific vibrational features in the spectra of proteins. Given an appropriately chosen model peptide, and using different experimental conditions, we can simplify the system and gain useful insights into the protein vibrational properties. Combining neutron scattering, depolarized light scattering, and molecular dynamics simulations, we analyse the low frequency vibrations of biological molecules, comparing the results from a small globular protein, lysozyme, and an amphiphilic peptide, NALMA, both in solution and in powder states. Lysozyme and NALMA present similar spectral features in the frequency range between 1 and 10 THz. With the aid of MD simulations, we assign the spectral features to methyl groups' librations (1-5 THz) and hindered torsions (5-10 THz) in NALMA. Our data also show that, while proteins display boson peak vibrations in both powder and solution forms, NALMA exhibits boson peak vibrations in powder form only. This provides insight into the nature of this feature, suggesting a connection of BP collective motions to a characteristic length scale of heterogeneities present in the system. These results provide context for the use of model peptide systems to study protein dynamics; demonstrating both their utility, and the great care that has to be used in extrapolating results observed in powder to solutions.

The collision induced effects in the third-order Raman response of liquid xenon have been studied both experimentally and theoretically. The effect of electron cloud overlap on the polarizability of xenon dimers was studied using accurate time-dependent density functional theory calculations. The dimer polarizabilities were used to fit parameters in a direct reaction field model that can be generalized to condensed phase systems. This model was employed in molecular dynamics simulations in order to calculate the impulsive Raman response of liquid xenon. Excellent agreement is found between the shape of the calculated and the measured anisotropic part of the response. The shape of this response is little affected by the electron overlap effects, but the intensity is strongly influenced by it. The shape of the isotropic response is predicted to be strongly dependent on electron overlap effects.

Molecular dynamics of acetone-alkali metal halide (LiBr, LiI) solutions were investigated using depolarized Rayleigh scattering (DRS) and low-frequency Raman spectroscopy in the frequency range from ~0.5 to 200 cm(-1) (~20 GHz to 6 THz). These experiments probe fast dynamical fluctuations of the polarizability anisotropy at picosecond and sub-picosecond time scales that are mainly driven by acetone orientational dynamics. Two distinct contributions were revealed: a fast process (units of picosecond, ps) related to the essentially unperturbed bulk solvent and a slow one (tens of ps) assigned to acetone molecules forming Li(+) solvation shells, decelerated by the motional constraint imposed by the cation. The increase of LiBr and LiI concentration significantly slows down the overall solvent relaxation as a consequence of the increased fraction of acetone molecules involved in the ion solvation shells. The global retardation is larger in LiI than LiBr solutions consistently with viscosity trends. This is explained in terms of ion association (at least ion pairing) more favorably promoted by Br(-) than I(-), with reduced Li(+)-acetone interactions in LiBr than LiI solutions. Anion-induced modulation of the Li(+)···O═C contacts, largely responsible for electrostriction phenomena, also affects the reduced THz-Raman spectral density, ascribed to ultrafast librational motions of acetone molecules. Overall, these findings enlighten the interplay between ion-dipole and ion-ion interactions on the fast solvation dynamics in electrolyte solutions of a typical polar aprotic solvent.

Extended frequency range depolarized light scattering measurements of water-levoglucosan solutions are reported at different concentrations and temperatures to assess the effect of the presence and distribution of hydroxyl groups on the dynamics of hydration water. The anhydro bridge, reducing from five to three the number of hydroxyl groups with respect to glucose, considerably affects the hydration properties of levoglucosan with respect to those of mono and disaccharides. In particular, we find that the average retardation of water dynamics is approximate to 3-4, that is lower than approximate to 5-6 previously found in glucose, fructose, trehalose, and sucrose. Conversely, the average number of retarded water molecules around levoglucosan is 24, almost double that found in water-glucose mixtures. These results suggest that the ability of sugar molecules to form H-bonds through hydroxyl groups with surrounding water, while producing a more effective retardation, it drastically reduces the spatial extent of the perturbation on the H-bond network. In addition, the analysis of the concentration dependence of the hydration number reveals the aptitude of levoglucosan to produce large aggregates in solution. The analysis of shear viscosity and rotational diffusion time suggests a very short lifetime for these aggregates, typically faster than approximate to 20 ps. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

Exploiting the high angular resolution of high field electron paramagnetic resonance measured at 95, 190, and 285 GHz we determine the rotational nonergodicity parameter of different probe molecules in the glass former o-terphenyl and polybutadiene in a model-independent way. Our results clearly show a characteristic change in the temperature of the nonergodicity parameter proving a rather sharp dynamic crossover in both systems, in contrast to previous results from other techniques. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Relaxation in glass-forming substances is necessarily a many-body problem because of intermolecular interactions and constraints. Results from molecular dynamics simulations and experiments are used to reveal the critical elements and general effects originating from many-body relaxation, but not dealt with in conventional theories of the glass transition. Although many-body relaxation is still an unsolved problem in statistical mechanics, these critical elements and general effects will serve as guides to the construction of a satisfactory theory of the glass transition. This effort is aided by concepts drawn from the coupling model, whose predictions have been shown to be consistent with experimental facts.