Unraveling fluctuation in gelatin and monovalent salt systems: coulombic starvation
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Updated: Aug 6, 2025

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water
Published on: August 2, 2012
Tithi Basu1, Sunetra V Chituru1, Saptarshi Majumdar1
1Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Sangareddy, Telangana 502284, India. saptarshi@che.iith.ac.in.
Abstract:
Fluctuations play a key role in biological systems. Here, fluctuations in gelatin intensify with increasing salt concentration. We find a redistribution of hydrogen bonds in protein-salt systems due to unfulfilled hydration of the charges of gelatin and salt-ions, termed as coulombic starvation. This yielded three regions; no starvation, starvation of gelatin, and both gelatin-salt. The system reaches equilibrium with all charges being partially hydrated. This will aid in interpreting protein-metal ion interactions and designing biomaterials.
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