Understanding of the dynamics of water molecules by using terahertz spectroscopy and its bio-applications

Abstract

Water is the most common and essential active substance that supports biological reactions in living systems. For example, the conformation of macromolecules, such as proteins, is supported by the hydration water surrounding them for its proper functioning. Due to the difficulty in selectively probing the picosecond dynamics of water, the in-vitro intracellular hydration state has been left unsolved. We demonstrate terahertz (THz) spectroscopy that is sensitive to small changes in water dynamics to unravel the intracellular hydration state in the intact cells. In this study, the ordinary THz spectroscopy and living cell measurement methods are introduced, and new bio-applications based on the findings are discussed.