Temperature-driven adsorption and desorption of proteins at solid-liquid interfaces.

The heat-induced desorption and adsorption of the proteins lysozyme, ribonuclease A, bovine serum albumin, and fibronectin at protein layers was investigated in two different environments: pure buffer and protein solution. Using two different environments allows us to distinguish between thermodynamic and kinetic mechanisms in the adsorption process. We observed a desorption in buffer and an adsorption in protein solution, depending upon protein properties, such as size, stability, and charge.

Microscopic structure of water at elevated pressures and temperatures.

We report on the microscopic structure of water at sub- and supercritical conditions studied using X-ray Raman spectroscopy, ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, and density functional theory. Systematic changes in the X-ray Raman spectra with increasing pressure and temperature are observed. Throughout the studied thermodynamic range, the experimental spectra can be interpreted with a structural model obtained from the molecular dynamics simulations.