THE HYDROPHOBIC EFFECT

Computer simulation and theoretical studies have improved significantl y our understanding of the connection between the structural organizat ion of water surrounding hydrophobic solutes and anomalous thermodynam ic behavior associated with the 'hydrophobic effect'. Recent studies h ave yielded the quantitative temperature dependence of hydrophobic int eractions and the dependence of hydration free energy on solute size a nd shape. The success of new proximity approximations, which assume th at water organization is only locally sensitive to solute structure, h as encouraged the study of the hydration of complex hydrophobic solute s.