Martin Chaplin (right) gives a clear description of the nature and behaviour of water within biological systems. The difference in density between intra-cellular and extra-cellular water is explained along with the problem of the maintenance of ion gradients across cellular boundaries.
Information Exchange within Intracellular Water – Martin Chaplin [paper]
Various observations demand explanations:
- ‘Biological’ water is said to be far denser than ‘bulk’ water and this is not explained by the additional mineral content
- Water inside a cell forms a thick gel-like substance
- Cells maintain an ion imbalance with typically more Na+ outside a cell and more K+ within
- The ion balance can be maintained without the presence of a cell membrane and so without the presence of ion channels
- Diffusion is often given as an explanation for various cellular processes but diffusion seems to be reduced in cellular environments
A two-state solution
A two-state solution is proposed. Water within living environments can adopt one of two semi-stable dynamic arrangements of molecules. One is more dense than the other, with the denser type accounting for water outside of the cell and the less dense but more mobile arrangement being used inside the cell.
The density state is managed by proteins and mineral content.
The two arrangements are depicted in the diagram below:
- State A: High density, weaker bonds but more of them Extra-cellular.
- State B: Low density, stronger bonds but fewer. More mobile. Intracellular.
Each state is semi-stable but can be transformed to the other via a small input of energy.
The diagram below shows the two states existing in adjacent ‘potential energy’ wells. The curve shows how the potential energy of the system varies with respect to the distance apart ‘r’ of the molecules.
State ‘b’ (low density) is shown to be the more stable state, needing the least energy for stability but requiring the most energy to lift it out of it’s current ‘well’.
This is a little surprising maybe, that it is the arrangement with the strongest bonds that is the most mobile and that maintains the least density arrangement. The strong bonds do not result in a drawing together of the molecules but in the maintenance of a distance between them via a more rigid geometry.
Least energy solutions
The diagram is a nice illustration of the least energy principle in physics which no doubt is responsible for a great deal of biological organisation, although rarely credited with it. The molecules of water adopt a conformity that is at the bottom of a potential well which leads to a naturally stable state, in the sense that a certain amount of energy is needed to permanently disrupt the organisation. Small perturbations to the system will never result in catastrophic chain reactions but will simply absorb the shock and re-stabilise as a matter of teleological inevitability.
State change
The state of the water within cells can change between low-density and high:
“Cell water has been found to possess reduced density consequent upon greater hydrogen bonding (Clegg, 1986) and this structuring changes with the metabolic state of the cell (Hazlewood, 2001); low density water (LDW) predominating in the resting cell converting to higher density water (HDW) in the active cell (Wiggins, 1996).” – Chaplin
Minerals and structuring
The presence of minerals within the cell is partly responsible for the ow density arrangement. The charge structure of an on will accumulate a hydration shell of structured water whose properties encourage further low density structuring:
“The different characteristics of the intracellular and extracellular environments manifest themselves particularly in terms of restricted diffusion inside cells and a high intracellular concentration of solutes that further promote the low-density clustering of water. This tendency towards a low density structuring is reinforced by the confined space within the cell stretching the hydrogen-bonded water. Additionally, the extensive surface effects of the membranes (e.g., liver cells contain ∼100,000 μm² membrane surface area) help create the tendency towards low density water inside cells as their lipids contain mainly hydrophilic kosmotropic head groups with structures that encourage this organization for the associated interfacial water.” – Martin Chaplin
Ion gradients and sodium pumps
“..studies confirm this preference of K+ ions towards, and Na+ ions away from, low-density water (Collins, 1995). The ions partition according to their preferred aqueous environment; in particular, the K+ ions are preferred within the intracellular environment and naturally accumulate inside the cells at the expense of Na+ ions. This process will occur simply as a result of the water structuring and the machinations of the membrane ion-pumps and/or membrane potential are not required, although they speed the process.” – Chaplin
“It is worth noting that the cellular membrane ion-pumps cannot produce the large differences in ionic composition observed in the absence of other mechanisms (Conway, 1957), simply as the (ATP) energy required far exceeds the energy that is available to the cell (Ling, 1962; Ling, 1997; Hazlewood, 2001). Also, in contrast to that written in several undergraduate textbooks, many studies show that cells do not need an intact membrane or active energy (i.e., ATP) production to maintain their concentration gradients (Pollack, 2001; Ling, 2001).” – Chaplin
Sodium potassium pump (Konstantin Meyl)
“In the absence of technical solutions, nature is once again the prime example for the successful utilization of cold fusion. Take the ‘sodium-potassium-pump’, which moves ionized molecules in opposition to the electric resting potential of a cell membrane as well as the predominant concentration gradient. After all, the concentration of K+ within a cell is more than 100 times that of Na+ on the opposite side of the membrane. How is this supposed to work?
“Suppose a sodium ion (1123Na+) comes into contact with monoatomic oxygen (8160): the nuclei, mutually attracted through magnetism, will fuse into a potassium ion (1939K+). The 8 ring electrons of the oxygen will be decelerated in the process and form a new M-shell around the already occupied L-shell of the Na+..
“Of course, there is more to the whole picture. This is merely an attempt to describe the basic process in order to provide a physical explanation free from contradictions. How the body supplies the oxygen and energy required, as well as the role played by ATP (adenosine triphosphate) are another story altogether.”
Potential Vortex vol. 4 – From Nuclear Physics and Fusion to Nanotechnology (Page 104)
Protein effects on water structuring
Proteins structure the water in a similar way to minerals, with the water molecules closest to the protein adopting a low or high density structure according to the nature of the protein:
“The degree of density lowering of the intracellular water is determined by the solutes, their concentration and the state of motion of intracellular protein; mobile proteins creating more disorder in the clustering compared with more static proteins.” – Chaplin
See the paper for more details on this.
Information exchange
The water can switch between two distinct states and this is considered to constitute a de facto transfer of information within and between cells:
“This low density water structuring cooperatively influences and reinforces the low density character of neighbouring sites’ water structuring. In this way information may be passed from site to site within the cell. Na+ and Ca2+ ions can destroy this low density structuring in a cooperative manner.” – Chaplin
Related pages:
Resources:
Information Exchange within Intracellular Water – Martin Chaplin
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226916102_Information_Exchange_within_Intracellular_Water
Martin Chaplin – website
https://water.lsbu.ac.uk/water/martin_chaplin.html