On the role of water in molecular recognition and self-assembly

The conventional concept of hydrophobic interaction is generalized to include any kind of solvent-induced effects on the binding of two or more solutes in aqueous solutions. Specifically, we focus on the role of hydrogen-bonding between the solutes and solvent molecules. A qualitative examination of the solute-solvent hydrogen-bonding effect on molecular recognition, self-assembly, and stabilization of biopolymers shows that these effects might be quite large and possible more important than direct interactions between solute particles.