Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T15:54:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo77_1.pdf: 2246870 bytes, checksum: dc0d8b4af5863a847c8f8d83e2604644 (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Faculdade de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco / O biossensor baseado no nanoporo unitário formado pela -hemolisina (-HL) do Staphylococcus aureus incorporada em bicamada lipídica plana permite a detecção, identificação e quantificação de diferentes compostos em meio aquoso. Os íons em meio aquoso podem causar efeitos específicos conhecidos como efeitos de Hofmeister. De acordo com a sua atuação na estrutura da água, os íons podem ser classificados como cosmotrópicos e caotrópicos. A mudança da estrutura da água por sua vez é capaz de influenciar na solubilidade e estrutura dos co-solutos. Então, a composição iônica da solução pode alterar a interação das moléculas solubilizadas. Este trabalho teve como objetivo investigar a influência de íons monovalentes na interação de moléculas unitárias orgânicas com nanoporos protéicos visando o entendimento dos mecanismos moleculares do processo e o aumento da sensibilidade do sensor. A confecção da bicamada lipídica plana e a inserção do nanoporo unitário na membrana, bem como os registros de correntes iônicas através dos poros foram realizados em condições de fixação de voltagem. No estudo da influência da concentração do eletrólito utilizamos as soluções de KCl em concentrações de 1M à 4M. A comparação dos efeitos dos ânions da família VIIA foi feita com sais de potássio em concentração de 4M e os efeitos dos cátions da família IA mais o NH4 + foram estudados utilizando sais de cloreto (4M). A ligação da molécula unitária (analito) ao nanoporo causa um bloqueio característico na corrente iônica que passa através do poro protéico. A análise desses eventos moleculares (bloqueios) permite determinar as constantes cinéticas da interação analito-nanoporo. Estabelecemos que aumentando a concentração do KCl na solução banhante de 1M para 4M ocorre um aumento na frequência, profundidade de bloqueio e tempo de residência do analito (polietilenoglicol 1294; PEG 1294). Analisando a mudança da frequência dos bloqueios com relação à concentração de KCl, estabelecemos que a concentração do analito detectável pelo sensor diminui com o aumento da concentração do sal de 1M para 4M cerca de cem vezes, indicando maior sensibilidade do sensor quando banhado por uma solução de KCl 4M. O forte aumento no tempo de residência do analito dentro do nanoporo ocorre devido ao aumento da energia de interação do complexo analito/nanoporo. A constante de associação do complexo PEG/nanoporo é cerca de cem vezes maior e a constante de dissociação é cerca de cem vezes menor em KCl 4M do que em KCl 1M. Essas mudanças melhoram a detecção e tornam viável a detecção da molécula unitária. Encontramos que a interação PEG/nanoporo é dependente de voltagem transmembrana indicando que o polímero nãoiônico (PEG) atua como uma molécula com carga elétrica em meio aquoso. Foi visto que a solubilidade do PEG é uma função da concentração do sal também. Uma forte correlação entre as mudanças das constantes e a solubilidade do PEG foi estabelecida. Provavelmente, o efeito salting-out é o responsável por mudanças estabelecidas na interação do analito com o nanoporo. Avaliando a influência dos íons da família IA e VIIA na interação do complexo PEG/nanoporo observamos que esta é muito dependente do tipo do sal. A sensibilidade do sensor depende fortemente do tipo de ânion da solução banhante e na solução de KF 4M é cerca de dez vezes maior e na solução de KI 4M é cerca de dez vezes menor quando comparada com a solução de KCl 4M. Estabelecemos que os valores das constantes de formação do complexo PEG/nanoporo diferem dependendo do tipo do cátion. A solução de KCl teve a maior constante de formação, enquanto que, as soluções de NH4Cl e LiCl tiveram as menores constantes, portanto, evidencia-se que o tipo de eletrólito influencia em todos os parâmetros da interação do analito com o nanoporo. Por isso, a escolha do eletrólito ótimo é uma etapa importante para sensores estocásticos baseados em um único nanoporo

Various studies suggest tannins act as antioxidants, anticarcinogens, cardio-protectants, anti-inflammatory agents, and antimicrobials. However, more investigation is needed to examine the bioavailability of tannins. Tannins bind to salivary peptides by hydrophilic and hydrophobic mechanisms. Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (ESI-MS) has been used to assess both hydrophilic and hydrophobic components of protein complexes. ESI-MS could potentially be an effective tool for screening the bioavailability of tannins. Weaker binding tannins are predicted to be more highly absorbed by the body, and should therefore exhibit greater bioavailability. Rannulu and Cole have used ESI-MS to measure binding affinities of procyanidin tannin stereoisomers for salivary peptides in aqueous solution. The condensed tannins procyanidin B1, B2, B3, and B4 demonstrated significantly different binding affinities (binding strengths) for the Histatin 5 salivary peptide. The procyanidin-Histatin 5 binding mechanisms in the ESI-MS experiments by Rannulu and Cole were investigated using the FRED docking program combined with molecular dynamics optimization in the AMBER software suite. The simulations suggest residual liquid-phase binding interactions in procyanidin-Histatin 5 complexes are maintained in the gas phase under conditions resembling those in ESI-MS experiments, though the gas-phase interaction energies were enhanced. Increased hydrogen bonding and decreased π-π stacking interactions were also detected in gas versus liquid-phase procyanidin-Histatin 5 complexes. In addition, simulation results suggest multiple conformations of procyanidins bind Histatin 5 at several sites and procyanidin binding does not fix the Histatin 5 peptide backbone. The simulations agree with previous studies which indicate aromatic Histatin 5 residues are responsible for procyanidin-Histatin 5 binding and tannins can bind salivary peptides in multiple conformations. The effects of Hofmeister salts on complexation of an amphiphilic guest adamantane carboxylic acid to the hydrophobic surface of a deep-cavity cavitand have been investigated by Gibb et al. Adamantane-cavitand binding was found to be largely enthalpically driven, though adamantane binding in the presence of the salting-in anions perchlorate and thiocyanate was entropically driven. Gibb et al. also found that perchlorate-cavitand binding was enthalpically favorable, though entropically unfavorable. Potential-of-mean-force (PMF) calculations for perchlorate-cavitand and thiocyanate-cavitand complexation were performed using umbrella sampling with a modified version of the sander module from the Amber 9 software suite to further investigate the thermodynamic properties of Hofmeister-anion binding to the hydrophobic cavitand. The enthalpy for salting-in anion-cavitand complexation was calculated from the potential energy difference between the bound and unbound state (the potential energy of binding) along with the entropy. The binding entropy and enthalpy were also calculated using a finite difference approximation to the entropy. The enthalpy for perchlorate-cavitand complexation calculated from the binding energy and the finite difference approximation to the entropy was favorable with an unfavorable entropy. The binding enthalpy and entropy for thiocyanate-cavitand complexation calculated from the binding energy and finite difference approximation to the entropy were unfavorable and favorable, respectively, perhaps due to a classical hydrophobic effect. The orientation of the ligand, the number of water molecules displaced from the ligand and cavitand upon complexation, and the number of nearest-neighbor atom contacts between the ligand and the cavitand were also calculated. Additionally, the energetics of various interactions involved in salting-in anion-cavitand complexation including the anion-cavitand, anion-water, cavitand-water, and water-water interactions were assessed, though the data were inconclusive.

Protein stability plays an important role in a wide variety of settings ranging from industrial processes where proteins are used as biocatalysts to medical settings where misfolded proteins are implicated in disease. Understanding protein stability will allow design of improved bioprocess and pharmaceutical formulations as well as aid in the development of therapies for protein-based diseases. The effects of dissolved salts on protein kinetic stability are studied here. We find that ion-solvent interactions, characterized by the Jones-Dole B-viscosity coefficient, are strong indicators of salt effects on protein deactivation. This finding is used to develop a model for predicting protein deactivation in salt solutions in terms of two competing processes. Since protein unfolding and aggregation can lead to a number of protein misfolding diseases, we test the applicability of our model for describing salt effects on transthyretin aggregation. As the factors contributing to protein stability become more understood, the use of enzymes as biocatalyst for industrial process will increase, and the need for enzymes active in a wide range of reaction media will increase. We have developed a process using an enzyme in combination with organic-aqueous tunable solvents (OATS) which allows for monophasic reaction of the enzyme with hypdrophobic substrates. The reaction mixture can be separated into two phases by the addition of carbon dioxide pressure. This separation allows for both convenient recovery of the hydrophobic reaction product from the organic phase as well as recycle of the enzyme in the aqueous phase. Overall reaction conversions of 80% and little enzyme activity loss are observed after six reaction cycles.

Bubbles in water are stabilised against coalescence by the addition of salt. The white froth in seawater but not in freshwater is an example of salt-stabilised bubbles. A range of experiments have been carried out to investigate this simple phenomenon, which is not yet understood.¶ The process of thin film drainage between two colliding bubbles relates to surface science fields including hydrodynamic flow, surface forces, and interfacial rheology. Bubble coalescence inhibition also stands alongside the better known Hofmeister series as an intriguing example of ion specificity: While some electrolytes inhibit coalescence at around 0.1M, others show no effect. The coalescence inhibition of any single electrolyte depends on the combination of cation and anion present, rather than on any single ion.¶ The surfactant-free inhibition of bubble coalescence has been studied in several systems for the first time, including aqueous mixed electrolyte solutions; solutions of biologically relevant non-electrolytes urea and sugars; and electrolyte solutions in nonaqueous solvents methanol, formamide, propylene carbonate and dimethylsulfoxide. Complementary experimental approaches include studies of terminal rise velocities of single bubbles showing that the gas-solution interface is mobile; and measurement of thin film drainage in inhibiting and non-inhibiting electrolyte solution, using the microinterferometric thin film balance technique.¶ The consolidation of these experimental approaches shows that inhibiting electrolytes act on the non-equilibrium dynamic processes of thin film drainage and rupture between bubble surfaces – and not via a change in surface forces, or by ion effects on solvent structure. In addition, inhibition is driven by osmotic effects related to solute concentration gradients, and ion charge is not important.¶ A new model is presented for electrolyte inhibition of bubble coalescence via changes to surface rheology. It is suggested that thin film stabilisation over a lifetime of seconds, is caused by damping of transient deformations of film surfaces on a sub-millisecond timescale. This reduction in surface deformability retards film drainage and delays film rupture. It is proposed that inhibiting electrolyte solutions show a dilational surface viscosity, which in turn is driven by interfacial concentration gradients. Inhibiting electrolytes have two ions that accumulate at the surface or two ions that are surface excluded, while non-inhibiting electrolytes have more evenly distributed interfacial solute. Bubble coalescence is for the first time linked through this ion surface partitioning, to the ion specificity observed at biological interfaces and the wider realm of Hofmeister effects.¶

Zugl.: Leipzig, Univ., Diss., 2006 / Includes bibliographical references and index.

<P> Amphiphilic molecules contain a hydrophilic headgroup and a hydrophobic tail. The headgroup is polar or ionic and likes water, the tail is typically an aliphatic chain that cannot be accommodated in a polar environment. The prevailing molecular asymmetry leads to a spontaneous adsorption of amphiphiles at the air/water or oil/water interfaces. As a result, the surface tension and the surface rheology is changed. Amphiphiles are important tools to deliberately modify the interfacial properties of liquid interfaces and enable new phenomena such as foams which cannot be formed in a pure liquid.</P> <P> In this thesis we investigate the static and dynamic properties of adsorption layers of soluble amphiphiles at the air/water interface, the so called Gibbs monolayers. The classical way for an investigation of these systems is based on a thermodynamic analysis of the equilibrium surface tension as a function of the bulk composition in the framework of Gibbs theory. However, thermodynamics does not provide any structural information and several recent publications challenge even fundamental text book concepts.</P> <P>The experimental investigation faces difficulties imposed by the low surface coverage and the presence of dissolved amphiphiles in the adjacent bulk phase. In this thesis we used a suite of techniques with the sensitivity to detect less than a monolayer of molecules at the air-water interface. Some of these techniques are extremely complex such as infrared visible sum frequency generation (IR-VIS SFG) spectroscopy or second harmonic generation (SHG). Others are traditional techniques, such as ellipsometry employed in new ways and pushed to new limits. Each technique probes selectively different parts of the interface and the combination provides a profound picture of the interfacial architecture. </P> <P>The first part of the thesis is dedicated to the distribution of ions at interfaces. Adsorption layers of ionic amphiphiles serve as model systems allowing to produce a defined surface charge. The charge of the monolayer is compensated by the counterions. As a result of a complex zoo of interactions there will be a defined distribution of ions at the interface, however, its experimental determination is a big scientific challenge. We could demonstrate that a combination of linear and nonlinear techniques gives direct insights in the prevailing ion distribution. Our investigations reveal specific ion effects which cannot be described by classical Poisson-Boltzmann mean field type theories.</P> <P>Adsorption layer and bulk phase are in thermodynamic equilibrium, however, it is important to stress that there is a constant molecular exchange between adsorbed and dissolved species. This exchange process is a key element for the understanding of some of the thermodynamic properties. An excellent way to study Gibbs monolayers is to follow the relaxation from a non-equilibrium to an equilibrium state. Upon compression amphiphiles must leave the adsorption layer and dissolve in the adjacent bulk phase. Upon expansion amphiphiles must adsorb at the interface to restore the equilibrium coverage. Obviously the frequency of the expansion and compression cycles must match the molecular exchange processes. At too low frequencies the equilibrium is maintained at all times. If the frequency is too fast the system behaves as a monolayer of insoluble surfactants. In this thesis we describe an unique variant of an oscillating bubble technique that measures precisely the real and imaginary part of the complex dilational modulus E in a frequency range up to 500 Hz. The extension of about two decades in the time domain in comparison to the conventional method of an oscillating drop is a tremendous achievement. The imaginary part of the complex dilational modulus E is a consequence of a dissipative process which is interpreted as an intrinsic surface dilational viscosity. The IR-VIS SFG spectra of the interfacial water provide a molecular interpretation of the underlying dissipative process.</P> / <P>Amphiphile Moleküle vereinen zwei gegensätzliche Strukturelemente. Sie bestehen aus einer polaren oder ionischen Kopfgruppe und einem unpolaren Molekülteil, häufig einer Kohlenwasserstoffkette. Die vorliegende molekulare Asymmetrie bewirkt eine spontane Adsorption der Amphiphile an der Wasser/Luft Grenzschicht. Als Folge verändern sich Oberflächenspannung und Grenzflächenrheologie. Amphiphile Moleküle werden benutzt, um die Eigenschaften flüssiger Grenzflächen zu verändern und begegnen uns z.B. in Form von Seifen oder anderen waschaktiven Substanzen im täglichen Leben.</P> <P>Der erste Teil dieser Doktorarbeit widmet sich der Verteilung von Ionen an geladenen flüssigen Grenzflächen. Adsorbtionsschichten ionischer Amphiphile bieten Modellsysteme zur Untersuchung dieses klassischen Bereiches der Kolloid- und Grenzflächenforschung. Durch die Adsorption der Amphiphile in der Grenzschicht werden definierte Oberflächenladungen erzeugt, welche durch die angrenzenden Gegenionen in der Sublage kompensiert werden.</P> <P>In dieser Arbeit wird gezeigt, dass eine Kombination aus linearen und komplexen nichtlinearen optischen Methoden, die experimentelle Bestimmung der Verteilung der Gegenionen an geladenen Grenzflächen ermöglicht. Unsere Messungen zeigen ionenspezifische Effekte, die sich nicht in Reihenfolge des Periodensystems ordnen lassen. Insbesondere wurde ein Phasenübergang in der Verteilung der Gegenionen von einem Zustand, in dem sich die Ionen in der Sublage befinden, zu einem Zustand bestehend aus direkt kondensierten Ionen beobachtet. Dieser Phasenübergang geschieht innerhalb einer geringen Erhöhung der Oberflächenladung und lässt sich nicht mit klassischen Theorien beschreiben.</P> <P>Der zweite Teil dieser Arbeit widmet sich der Stabilität von Schaumlamellen. Eine Schaumlamelle ist ein dünner Wasserfilm, der durch die Adsorption von oberflächenaktiven Molekülen an beiden Seiten stabilisiert wird. In Zusammenhang von Schäumen muss zwischen zwei Prozessen unterschieden werden: Der Schaumbildung und der Schaumstabilität. Die zugrundeliegenden Mechanismen der Schaumbildung sind weitestgehend verstanden, die der Schaumstabilität jedoch noch nicht.</P> <P>Um die Stabilität von Schäumen zu untersuchen, müssen Nichtgleichgewichtszustände erzeugt und die anschließende Relaxation in das Gleichgewicht beobachtet werden. In dieser Arbeit wurde ein neues Verfahren entwickelt, welches es ermöglicht, das Elastizitätsmodul von Grenzflächen in einem Frequenzbereich von 1-500 Hz zu bestimmen. Dies bedeutet eine Erweiterung um zwei Dekaden gegenüber herkömmlichen Methoden. Die Idee ist denkbar einfach: In einer mit Flüssigkeit gefüllten Kammer wird über die Bewegung eines Piezos eine Luftblase in Schwingung versetzt und mit einem in der Kammer befindlichen Drucksensor die Schwingungsantwort der Blase aufgezeichnet. Unsere Untersuchungen zeigen, dass die Voraussetzung für die Ausbildung einer stabilen Schaumlamelle das Vorkommen einer intrinsischen Oberflächenviskosität ist. Eine anschauliche Erklärung verdeutlicht dies: Eine viskose Oberfläche ist in der Lage, eine eingehende Störung lokal zu dämpfen, im Gegensatz zu einer komplett elastischen Oberfläche, wo sich die Störung über die gesamte Schaumlamelle verbreiten kann.</P> <P> Untersuchungen mittels der IR-VIS SFG Spektroskopie ergaben, dass die Struktur des Wassers bei der Beschreibung der Schaumstabilität auf molekularer Ebene eine entscheidende Rolle spielt: Die Oberflächenviskosität ist mit einem dissipativen Vorgang innerhalb der Grenzschicht verbunden. Dieser dissipative Vorgang konnte auf molekularer Ebene durch das Aufbrechen von Wasserstoffbrückenbindungen identifiziert werden. Ausschlaggebend war dabei der Austausch der adsorbierten Amphiphile in der Grenzfläche und der angrenzenden Sublage.</P>

Specific ion effects, identified for more than hundred years, play an important role in a wide range of phenomena and applications. Several mechanisms such as direct ion interaction with molecules have been suggested to explain these effects, but quantitative experimental evidence remains scarce. Electrophoretic NMR (eNMR) has been emerging as a very powerful tool for studying molecular association and ionic transport in a variety of systems. Yet its potential in studying specific ion effect has been unexplored. In this thesis, eNMR was in part developed further as an analytical method and was in part used as one of the main techniques to study ions interacting with macromolecules in aqueous and non-aqueous solutions. The complexation of a large group of cations with poly ethylene oxide (PEO) in methanol was studied with eNMR. The binding of monovalent ions was demonstrated not to follow the Hofmeister order; multivalent cations except barium all showed negligible complexation. As a unifying feature, only cations with surface charge density below a threshold value were able to bind suggesting that ion solvation is critical. The binding mechanism was examined in greater detail for K+ and Ba2+ with oligomeric PEO of different chain lengths. Those two cations exhibited different binding mechanisms. K+ was found to bind to PEO by having at least 6 repeating units wrap around it while retaining the polymer flexibility. On the other hand, Ba2+ (and, to some extent, (BaAnion)+) needs a slightly shorter section to bind, but the molecular dynamics at the binding site slow considerably. The binding of anions with poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) in water was quantified at low salt concentration with eNMR and the binding affinity, though very weak, followed the Hofmeister order. This result indicates the non-electrostatic nature of this specific ion effects. The increase of binding strength with salt concentration is well described by a Langmuir isotherm. The specific ion binding to a protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA), was also studied at pH values where BSA has either net positive and negative charges. Our results show that anions have the same binding affinity irrespective of the surface charge while the binding strength of cations is reversed with the change in net surface charge. This indicates different binding mechanisms for cations and anions. The ionization of cellobiose in alkaline solutions was measured quantitatively by eNMR. The results show a two-step deprotonation process with increasing alkaline strength. Supported by results from 1H-13C HSQC NMR and MD simulation, ionization was proposed to be responsible for the improved solubility of cellulose in alkaline solution. eNMR was also used to characterize the effective charge of tetramethylammonium ions in a variety of solvents. In solvents of high polarity, the results agree well with predictions based on Onsager’s limiting law but for nonpolar solvents deviations were found that were attributed to ion pair formation. / <p>QC 20170216</p>

Title: Ion Specific Hofmeister Effects on Peptides and Proteins Author: Ing. Jana Hladílková Department: Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry Advisor: Prof. Pavel Jungwirth, DSc., IOCB AS CR Advisor's email address: pavel.jungwirth@uochb.cas.cz Abstract: Classical molecular dynamics simulations in combination with advanced methods of analysis were used to shed light on missing parts of our molecular understanding of the Hofmeister series. In tandem with various experimental techniques, real proteins as well as model systems were investigated in aqueous salt solutions in order to identify and quantify ion-protein interactions either leading or not leading to the canonical cationic and anionic Hofmeister ordering. The potassium cation was found to significantly enhance the BHMT enzymatic activity in contrast to the rest of the common monovalent cations. In the quest to rationalize this behavior, a key potassium binding site in the vicinity of the active site was discovered and described. Moreover, the exceptionally strong effect of K+ on the enzymatic activity was explained by hydration properties of the cations within the limited space of the active site in interplay with their attraction to the nearby negatively charged residues. By contrast, only a small and indirect influence, which follows the cationic...

L'objectif de ce travail a été d'évaluer la NF en tant qu'étape de purification au sein d'un procédé de production d'acide lactique. Une étude bibliographique a tout d'abord permis d'identifier différents niveaux potentiels d'intégration. Ceux-ci ont été évalués à partir d'une étude expérimentale réalisée pour une membrane donnée (Desal DK, Ge Water) avec des solutions de complexité croissante contenant en proportions variables l'espèce cible (acide lactique / lactate de sodium) et une impureté (glucose). Les rétentions intrinsèques de chaque soluté ont dans tous les cas été déterminées. Il est montré en particulier que la rétention du sucre diminue en présence d'une espèce dissociée (sel). Cet effet, dépendant à la fois de la nature et de la concentration du sel, provient vraisemblablement d'une diminution du rayon apparent du glucose dû au phénomène de "salting-out". L'ampleur de cette diminution a pu être quantifiée à partir de modèles de transport spécifiques.

Very specific protein-salt interactions are involved in a multitude of biological phenomena such as protein folding/stability, enzymatic activity, and signal transduction events. In this work, we used two very simple, protein-mimic model biopolymers to obtain a better understanding of specific cation effects operating in aqueous protein environments. The two biopolymers used were Elastin-like Polypeptides (ELPs) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM). ELPs are an especially an ideal model system as these polypeptides can be easily genetically engineered to observe the effect of specific amino acid residues and peptide chain length on these salt interactions. Both of these biopolymers are also highly thermoresponsive as their aqueous solutions undergo a hydrophobic collapse/aggregation induced phase transition process above a lower critical solution temperature (LCST). Thermodynamic measurements of these biopolymers were carried out under various salt solution conditions. Additionally, both of these biopolymers are suitable for making surface specific spectroscopic measurements. Vibrational sum frequeny spectroscopy (VSFS), a non-linear interface sensitive spectroscopic technique, was employed here to investigate biologically relevant cation interactions which occur at peptide/protein surfaces. First, the LCST response of a non-polar ELP and a neutral biopolymer, PNIPAM, was investigated in the presence of 12 different alkali, alkaline-earth metal and transition metal chloride salts. Even though the salt interactions for uncharged proteins are dominated by anions, subtle specific cation effects were also observed. The results followed a direct Hofmeister series for cations. Most alkali cations are excluded from the polar amide regions of proteins. More polarizable cations, however, can solvate the hydrophobic moieties and somewhat counter the salting-out effect of the chloride anion. More charged and hydrated ions like lithium and divalent cations showed a weak interaction to the amide moiety through their hydration shell. The role of acidic amino acid residues in inducing cation specificities was investigated using an aspartate-rich ELP system. Both thermodynamic and spectroscopic data conclusively proved that the negative charge on protein surfaces is the main driving force for cation partitioning and specificity under physiological relevant concentration regimes. Apparent binding constants of carboxylate moieties with cations were determined. This is the first quantitative and thoroughly systematic study of such biologically relevant cation-carboxylate interactions prevalent in enzyme active sites and protein surfaces.