Protein hydration dynamics in aqueous solution

Water oxygen-17 and deuteron spin relaxation rates, measured as a function of resonance frequency, have been used to study the dynamics of protein hydration in aqueous solutions of ribonuclease A, lysozyme, myoglobin, trypsin and serum albumin. The relaxation data conform to the picture of protein hydration dynamics, proposed on the basis of previous studies of smaller proteins, where the long-lived water molecules responsible for the relaxation dispersion are identified with a small number of integrat water molecules seen in the crystal structures. These integral water molecules, with residence times in the range 10(-9)-10(-3) s, are either buried in internal cavities, trapped in narrow clefts or coordinated to metal ions. For the water molecules in the traditional hydration layer at the protein surface, the relaxation data suggest an average residence time in the range 10-50 ps, consistent with high-resolution 1H spectroscopy and computer simulations. The relaxation data also reveal some more specific features of protein hydration, relating to hydration of cavities that appear empty by crystallography, entrapment of water between structural domains of large proteins and subnanosecond 180 degrees flips in buried water clusters.