Proteins systematically lose their protective hydration shell when their environment becomes more acidic. Until recently, this was just a theory. State-of-the-art imaging techniques have helped researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) directly observe this process for the first time at the level of the individual water molecule. This has answered a question in biochemistry that had remained unanswered for 50 years.

Wenn ihre Umgebung saurer wird, verlieren Proteine systematisch ihre schützende Wasserhülle. Hallenser Forschern ist es nun erstmals gelungen, diesen Prozess direkt zu beobachten.

Proteins systematically lose their protective hydration shell when their environment becomes more acidic. Until recently, this was just a theory. State-of-the-art imaging…