Reversed Hofmeister series—The rule rather than the exception

Over recent years, the supposedly universal Hofmeister series has been replaced by a diverse spectrum of direct, partially altered and reversed series. This review aims to provide a detailed understanding of the full spectrum by combining results from molecular dynamics simulations, Poisson–Boltzmann theory and AFM experiments. Primary insight into the origin of the Hofmeister series and its reversal is gained from simulation-derived ion–surface interaction potentials at surfaces containing non-polar, polar and charged functional groups for halide anions and alkali cations. In a second step, the detailed microscopic interactions of ions, water and functional surface groups are incorporated into Poisson–Boltzmann theory. This allows us to quantify ion-specific binding affinities to surface groups of varying polarity and charge, and to provide a connection to the experimentally measured long-ranged electrostatic forces that stabilize colloids, proteins and other particles against precipitation. Based on the stabilizing efficiency, the direct Hofmeister series is obtained for negatively charged hydrophobic surfaces. Hofmeister series reversal is induced by changing the sign of the surface charge from negative to positive, by changing the nature of the functional surface groups from hydrophobic to hydrophilic, by increasing the salt concentration, or by changing the pH. The resulting diverse spectrum reflects that alterations of Hofmeister series are the rule rather than the exception and originate from the variation of ion-surface interactions upon changing surface properties.     

Possible origin of the inverse and direct Hofmeister series for lysozyme at low and high salt concentrations

Protein solubility studies below the isoelectric point exhibit a direct Hofmeister series at high salt concentrations and an inverse Hofmeister series at low salt concentrations. The efficiencies of different anions measured by salt concentrations needed to effect precipitation at fixed cations are the usual Hofmeister series (Cl(-) > NO(3)(-) > Br(-) > ClO(4)(-) > I(-) > SCN(-)). The sequence is reversed at low concentrations. This has been known for over a century. Reversal of the Hofmeister series is not peculiar to proteins. Its origin poses a key test for any theoretical model. Such specific ion effects in the cloud points of lysozyme suspensions have recently been revisited. Here, a model for lysozymes is considered that takes into account forces acting on ions that are missing from classical theory. It is shown that both direct and reverse Hofmeister effects can be predicted quantitatively. The attractive/repulsive force between two protein molecules was calculated. To do this, a modification of Poisson-Boltzmann theory is used that accounts for the effects of ion polarizabilities and ion sizes obtained from ab initio calculations. At low salt concentrations, the adsorption of the more polarizable anions is enhanced by ion-surface dispersion interactions. The increased adsorption screens the protein surface charge, thus reducing the surface forces to give an inverse Hofmeister series. At high concentrations, enhanced adsorption of the more polarizable counterions (anions) leads to an effective reversal in surface charge. Consequently, an increase in co-ion (cations) adsorption occurs, resulting in an increase in surface forces. It will be demonstrated that among the different contributions determining the predicted specific ion effect the entropic term due to anions is the main responsible for the Hofmeister sequence at low salt concentrations. Conversely, the entropic term due to cations determines the Hofmeister sequence at high salt concentrations. This behavior is a remarkable example of the charge-reversal phenomenon.     

Specific-ion effects in non-aqueous systems

It is widely acknowledged that specific-ion effects are ubiquitous in aqueous systems and undoubtedly are essential to the fundamental processes of life, although a deep fundamental understanding of specific-ion effects remains an important challenge. Specific-ion effects in non-aqueous solvents are known but have attracted far less attention, yet knowledge of specific-ion effects in non-aqueous systems is likely to provide important information for guiding, evaluating and testing our theories of specific-ion effects. Here, the literature on specific-ion effects in non-aqueous solvents is surveyed with a view to determining if the Hofmeister series or lyotropic series so universally observed in aqueous systems is widely evident in non-aqueous systems. Particular attention has been applied to experiments on non-aqueous systems that are known to exhibit Hofmeister series in aqueous systems with the aim of determining if a consistent ion ordering in the strength of specific-ion effects is observed in other solvents. We find that specific-ion effects are ubiquitous in non-aqueous solvents, that both Hofmeister and lyotropic series are widely observed, although not necessarily for the same class of experiment. Moreover, we find that Hofmeister and lyotropic series are observed in non-aqueous solvents even for experiments in which these series are not observed for water. Additionally, series reversal is seen for a given experiment when the solvent is changed. All this poses significant challenges for our understanding of specific-ion effects in aqueous and non-aqueous systems and also provides guideposts for future investigations.     

Surprising Hofmeister Effects on the Bending Vibration of Water

The Hofmeister series, which originally described the specific ion effects on the solubility of macromolecules in aqueous solutions, has been a long‐standing unsolved and exceptionally challenging mystery in chemistry. The complexity of specific ion effects has prevented a unified theory from emerging. Accumulating research has suggested that the interactions among ions, water and various solutes play roles. However, among these interactions, the binding between ions and solutes is receiving most of the attention, whereas the effects of ions on the hydrogen‐bond structure in liquid water have been deemed to be negligible. In this study, attenuated‐total‐reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy is used to study the infrared spectra of salt solutions. The results show that the red‐ and blue‐shifts of the water bending band are in excellent agreement with the characteristic Hofmeister series, which suggests that the ions’ effects on water structure might be the key role in the Hofmeister phenomenon.     

On the mechanism of the hofmeister effect

Vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy was used to probe fatty amine monolayers spread on various electrolyte solutions. The spectra revealed ion specific changes in both monolayer ordering and water structure with the former following the Hofmeister series. Separate measurements of the surface potential as a function of ion tracked closely to changes in alkyl chain structure, but less closely to changes in water structure. The disruption of the monolayer ordering could be ascribed to the relative ability of the ions to penetrate past the hydrophilic surface of the monolayer's headgroups and into the more hydrophobic portion of the thin film. The corresponding trends observed in the surface water structure showed significant deviations from the Hofmeister series, leading to the conclusion that the changes in surface water structure, often credited with being the origin of Hofmeister effects, are probably not of primary importance. On the other hand, dispersion forces almost certainly play a large role in the order of the Hofmeister series.     

The Hofmeister series and protein-salt interactions

In order to understand the origin of the Hofmeister series, a statistical-mechanical analysis, based upon the Kirkwood-Buff (KB) theory, has been performed to extract information regarding protein hydration and water-mediated protein-salt interactions from published experimental data-preferential hydration and volumetric data for bovine serum albumin in the presence of a wide range of salts. The analysis showed a linear correlation between the preferential hydration parameter and the protein-cosolvent KB parameter. The same linear correlation holds even when nonelectrolyte cosolvents, such as polyethelene glycol, have been incorporated. These results suggest that the Hofmeister series is due to a wide variation of the water-mediated protein-cosolvent interaction (but not the change of protein hydration) and that this mechanism is a special case of a more general scenario common even to the macromolecular crowding.     

Salt effects on the interaction of an amphiphilic model molecule with immobilized phosphatidylcholine monolayers

The retention of hydrocortisone (used as an amphiphilic model solute) on an immobilized artificial membrane (IAM) column was investigated in relation to the mobile phase concentration of three sodium salts (representing different rankings in the Hofmeister series, i.e. perchlorate, chloride and sulfate) in order to provide insight into the nature of the solute interactions with phospholipid monolayers. The influence of the salt series on solute retention was found to follow the Hofmeister series, emphasizing the role of hydrophobic effect in the solute retention mechanism on phospholipid monolayers. Retention models based on the extended Wyman relations (preferential interaction theory) were developed to analyze more quantitatively the salt effects on the hydrocortisone retention factor. This analysis as well as additional thermodynamic study suggested that the hydrocortisone binding to IAM involved both an insertion into the hydrophobic inside governed by hydrophobic effects and contacts with the interfacial region implying interactions such as van der Waals interactions/hydrogen bonds between the solute hydroxyl groups and the polar headgroups of phospholipidmonolayers.     

The interfacial tension concept,as revealed by fluctuations

A simple, didactic model that could have conclusively interpreted the complexity of specific salt (Hofmeister-) effects on protein solubility and function, using a single physical quantity as a central parameter, has long been missing. Via surveying a row of recent papers we show in this review that a phenomenological formalism based on the salt-induced change of protein–water interfacial tension (∆γ) is able to account for a wide range of Hofmeister effects, including also such “exceptions”, where inverse or “V-shaped” Hofmeister series occurs. A close relationship between protein–water interfacial tension and conformational fluctuations is pinpointed on theoretical grounds, then it is shown how one can use a complex experimental arsenal to demonstrate conformational fluctuations on two prototypical proteins, the membrane protein bacteriorhodopsin and the cytoplasmic protein myoglobin. Finally, via the results of recent and new molecular dynamics simulations on a model peptide, the tryptophan-cage miniprotein, independent evidences are given in favor of the interfacial tension concept, at the same time demonstrating the predictive power of the theory. It is shown that salt-induced fluctuation changes of surface-exposed amino acid groups can be used as a sensitive measure for mapping the local features of Hofmeister effects on protein conformations. General implications of the interfacial tension concept are also discussed.     

Hofmeister anionic effects on hydration electric fields around water and peptide

Specific ion effects on water dynamics and local solvation structure around a peptide are important in understanding the Hofmeister series of ions and their effects on protein stability in aqueous solution. Water dynamics is essentially governed by local hydrogen-bonding interactions with surrounding water molecules producing hydration electric field on each water molecule. Here, we show that the hydration electric field on the OD bond of HOD molecule in water can be directly estimated by measuring its OD stretch infrared (IR) radiation frequency shift upon increasing ion concentration. For a variety of electrolyte solutions containing Hofmeister anions, we measured the OD stretch IR bands and estimated the hydration electric field on the OD bond to be about a hundred MV∕cm with standard deviation of tens of MV∕cm. As anion concentration increases from 1 to 6 M, the hydration electric field on the OD bond decreases by about 10%, indicating that the local H-bond network is partially broken by dissolved ions. However, the measured hydration electric fields on the OD bond and its fluctuation amplitudes for varying anions are rather independent on whether the anion is a kosmotrope or a chaotrope. To further examine the Hofmeister effects on H-bond solvation structure around a peptide bond, we examined the amide I' and II' mode frequencies of N-methylacetamide in various electrolyte D(2)O solutions. It is found that the two amide vibrational frequencies are not affected by ions, indicating that the H-bond solvation structure in the vicinity of a peptide remains the same irrespective of the concentration and character of ions. The present experimental results suggest that the Hofmeister anionic effects are not caused by direct electrostatic interactions of ions with peptide bond or water molecules in its first solvation shell. Furthermore, even though the H-bond network of water is affected by ions, thus induced change of local hydration electric field on the OD bond of HOD is not in good correlation with the well-known Hofmeister series. We anticipate that the present experimental results provide an important clue about the Hofmeister effect on protein structure and present a discussion on possible alternative mechanisms.     

Study of specific ion-amino acid interactions through the use of local correlation methods

Specific ion effects, related to the hydration of ions and ion-solute interactions, play a fundamental part in many processes in chemistry and biology. Although intensively studied since the seminal studies of Franz Hofmeister and co-workers, their molecular origin has only recently started to be unveiled. In this work, we have investigated the interaction between halide anions and a selected set of amino acid residues in an attempt to identify the forces behind ion specificity. Two-dimensional potential energy surfaces have been calculated with the use of local second order M?ller-Plesset perturbation theory (LMP2), coupled with the COSMO model to describe solvent effects. The results show in great detail the impact of dispersion interactions, in particular for the heavier anions (Br(-) and I(-)). The obtained potential energy surfaces also hint at a greater mobility of iodide in the vicinity of a residue, which correlates well with its placing in the Hofmeister series.     

Thermodynamic origin of hofmeister ion effects

Quantitative interpretation and prediction of Hofmeister ion effects on protein processes, including folding and crystallization, have been elusive goals of a century of research. Here, a quantitative thermodynamic analysis, developed to treat noncoulombic interactions of solutes with biopolymer surface and recently extended to analyze the effects of Hofmeister salts on the surface tension of water, is applied to literature solubility data for small hydrocarbons and model peptides. This analysis allows us to obtain a minimum estimate of the hydration b1 (H2O A(-2)), of hydrocarbon surface and partition coefficients Kp, characterizing the distribution of salts and salt ions between this hydration water and bulk water. Assuming that Na+ and SO4(2-) ions of Na2SO4 (the salt giving the largest reduction in hydrocarbon solubility as well as the largest increase in surface tension) are fully excluded from the hydration water at hydrocarbon surface, we obtain the same b1 as for air-water surface (approximately 0.18 H2O A(-2)). Rank orders of cation and anion partition coefficients for nonpolar surface follow the Hofmeister series for protein processes, but are strongly offset for cations in the direction of exclusion (preferential hydration). By applying a coarse-grained decomposition of water accessible surface area (ASA) into nonpolar, polar amide, and other polar surface and the same hydration b1 to interpret peptide solubility increments, we determine salt partition coefficients for amide surface. These partition coefficients are separated into single-ion contributions based on the observation that both Cl- and Na+ (also K+) occupy neutral positions in the middle of the anion and cation Hofmeister series for protein folding. Independent of this assignment, we find that all cations investigated are strongly accumulated at amide surface while most anions are excluded. Cation and anion effects are independent and additive, allowing successful prediction of Hofmeister salt effects on micelle formation and other processes from structural information (ASA).     

Hydrophobic and Hofmeister effects on the adhesion of spider silk proteins onto solid substrates: an AFM-based single-molecule study

AFM-based single-molecule force spectroscopy has been used to study the effect of Hofmeister salts and protein hydrophobicity on the adhesion of recombinant spider silk proteins onto solid substrates. Therefore, a molecular probe consisting of a spider silk protein and an AFM tip has been developed, which (i) is a well-defined, small system that can be simulated by molecular dynamics simulations, (ii) allows access to the whole soluble concentration range for ions, and (iii) provides the distribution of desorption forces rather than just ensemble-averaged mean values. The measured desorption forces follow the Hofmeister series for anions (H2PO4-, Cl-, I-) with a stabilizing energy of more than 15 kBT for 5 M NaH2PO4. Moreover, this effect is influenced by the hydrophobicity of the spider silk protein, indicating that hydrophobic and Hofmeister effects are closely related.     

Evaluation of Hofmeister effects on the kinetic stability of proteins

Dissolved salts are known to affect properties of proteins in solution including solubility and melting temperature, and the effects of dissolved salts can be ranked qualitatively by the Hofmeister series. We seek a quantitative model to predict the effects of salts in the Hofmeister series on the deactivation kinetics of enzymes. Such a model would allow for a better prediction of useful biocatalyst lifetimes or an improved estimation of protein-based pharmaceutical shelf life. Here we consider a number of salt properties that are proposed indicators of Hofmeister effects in the literature as a means for predicting salt effects on the deactivation of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase (HL-ADH), alpha-chymotrypsin, and monomeric red fluorescent protein (mRFP). We find that surface tension increments are not accurate predictors of salt effects but find a common trend between observed deactivation constants and B-viscosity coefficients of the Jones-Dole equation, which are indicative of ion hydration. This trend suggests that deactivation constants (log k(d,obs)) vary linearly with chaotropic B-viscosity coefficients but are relatively unchanged in kosmotropic solutions. The invariance with kosmotropic B-viscosity coefficients suggests the existence of a minimum deactivation constant for proteins. Differential scanning calorimetry is used to measure protein melting temperatures and thermodynamic parameters, which are used to calculate the intrinsic irreversible deactivation constant. We find that either the protein unfolding rate or the rate of intrinsic irreversible deactivation can control the observed deactivation rates.     

Hofmeister series: the hydrolytic activity of Aspergillus niger lipase depends on specific anion effects

The specific activity of lipase A (Aspergillus niger) toward the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl acetate (p-NPA) is shown to increase as a result of sodium salt addition according to specific ion effects of the Hofmeister series. This shows explicitly that the Hofmeister effect is due to the different specific interactions between anions and the enzymatic surface.     

Interfacial water structure controls protein conformation

A phenomenological theory of salt-induced Hofmeister phenomena is presented, based on a relation between protein solubility in salt solutions and protein-water interfacial tension. As a generalization of previous treatments, it implies that both kosmotropic salting out and chaotropic salting in are manifested via salt-induced changes of the hydrophobic/hydrophilic properties of protein-water interfaces. The theory is applied to describe the salt-dependent free energy profiles of proteins as a function of their water-exposed surface area. On this basis, three classes of protein conformations have been distinguished, and their existence experimentally demonstrated using the examples of bacteriorhodopsin and myoglobin. The experimental results support the ability of the new formalism to account for the diverse manifestations of salt effects on protein conformation, dynamics, and stability, and to resolve the puzzle of chaotropes stabilizing certain proteins (and other anomalies). It is also shown that the relation between interfacial tension and protein structural stability is straightforwardly linked to protein conformational fluctuations, providing a keystone for the microscopic interpretation of Hofmeister effects. Implications of the results concerning the use of Hofmeister effects in the experimental study of protein function are discussed.     

The Hofmeister anion effect and the growth of polyelectrolyte multilayers

The influence of a variety of counteranions on the properties of polyelectrolyte multilayers deposited by layer-by-layer technique is studied by using ellipsometry and AFM. We found out that in thin dry multilayers (20-90 nm) ofpoly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) and poly(diallyldimethylammonium) (PDADMA), the thickness follows reasonably well the position of the counteranion in the Hofmeister series. The polyelectrolyte-counteranion interaction is studied by means of viscosity measurements of semidilute solutions of PDADMA in the presence of different anions. The dynamic viscosities follow the Hofmeister series of anions and correlate with the thickness of multilayers. Two parameters describing the interaction of ions with water, the Jones-Dole viscosity B coefficient and the hydration entropy, are used to explain the anion effect on the developing multilayer thickness. Reasonably smooth and monotonic functional dependence is observed between the layer thickness and these two parameters.     

Effects of Hofmeister anions on the flocculation behavior of temperature-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) microgels

Effects of some sodium salts (NaCl, NaClO₃, and NaSCN) in the Hofmeister series on deswelling and temperature-induced aggregation behavior of microgels of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAM) and PNIPAAM-co-PAA with attached poly(acrylic acid) moieties were investigated with the aid of turbidimetry and dynamic light scattering. Addition of salt in the concentration range 0.1–0.5?M generated aggregation of the PNIPAAM microgel particles at elevated temperatures, but it was no distinct difference between chaotropic and kosmotropic anions. In contrast, the flocculation behavior at high temperatures for PNIPAAM-co-PAA revealed a prominent influence of salinity and type of anion on the formation of aggregates. The aggregation transition was shifted to the highest temperature for the most chaotropic anion (SCN^?), and the aggregation transition at the same salt concentration is consistent with the typical Hofmeister series. The turbidity results from the PNIPAAM-co-PAA microgels disclosed a two-step transition for the considered anions, and both a low and high temperature change in the turbidity data was observed. The high-temperature transition followed the Hofmeister series.     

Hofmeister effects at low salt concentration due to surface charge transfer

We present a theoretical comparison of the surface forces between two graphite-like surfaces at salt concentrations below 10 mM with surfaces charged by various mechanisms. Surface forces include a surface charging or chemisorption contribution to the total free energy. Surfaces are charged by charge regulation (H⁺ binding), site competition (H⁺ and cation binding) and redox charging with electrodes coupled to a countercell. Constant surface charge is also considered. Surface parameters are calibrated to give the same potential when isolated. Nonelectrostatic physisorption energies of the potential determining ions provide a specific and significant contribution to the charging energy. Consequently ion specificity is found in the surface forces at concentrations of 1–10 mM, which is not observed under constant charge conditions. The force between redox electrodes continues to show Hofmeister effects at 0.01 mM. We refer to this low concentration Hofmeister effect as “Hofmeister charging”, and suggest that the more common high concentration ion specific effects may be known as “Hofmeister screening”. Hofmeister series are considered over LiCl, NaCl, KCl and NaNO₃, NaClO₄, NaSCN with the cations (or H⁺) being the potential determining ions. A K⁺ anomaly is attributed to the small size of the weakly hydrated chaotropic K⁺ ion, with Li⁺ and Na⁺ explicitly modelled as strongly hydrated cosmotropes.     

Contra-Hofmeister anion extraction by cyclosteroidal receptors

Steroid-based receptors with enclosed binding sites, formed from quaternary ammonium and macrocyclic bis-urea units, can substantially override the Hofmeister series in anion phase transfer experiments.     

Specific anion effects on glass electrode pH measurements of buffer solutions: bulk and surface phenomena

The effect of electrolytes on pH measurements via glass electrodes is explored with solutions buffered at pH 7 (phosphate and cacodylate). Salt and buffer concentrations are varied. Direct and reverse Hofmeister effects are observed. The phenomena are significant for salt concentrations above 0.1 M and for buffer concentrations below 20 mM. Changes in measured pH show up most strongly with anions. They can be related to the usual physicochemical parameters (anion molar volumes, molar refractivity, and surface tensions) that are characteristic of Hofmeister series. They correlate strongly with anionic excess polarizabilities; this suggests the involvement of non-electrostatic, or dispersion, forces acting on ions. These forces contribute to ionic adsorption at the glass electrode surface, and to the liquid junction potential.