Vicinal water

Vicinal water is physically and chemically different from ordinary water, particularly near hydrophobic surfaces, where it tends to move into the space between charges, with a force similar in principle to that involved in dielectrophoresis 1. This phenomenon is a result of the polarization of water by an electrical charge or the presence of a phase boundary, altering its normal state and making it more hydrophilic than in the relaxed state 1. Vicinal water is a network of hydrophobic interactions that extends through the relaxed cell, and its properties are relevant to physiology, particularly in the context of cellular respiration and signaling interactions 4.

The behavior of vicinal water is closely related to the cellular processes involved in fatigue and aging, as the breakdown of vicinal water leads to the uptake of bulk water, which can drive fatigue-related swelling of nerves and muscles 6. In the excited state, cell water behaves more like bulk water, with relatively free molecular movements, indicating the momentary loss of the interfacial state 6. This change in the state of cell water can explain many changes in enzyme activity and the development of negative surface charges on previously nonpolar lipids, which would tend to increase their oxidation and contribute to fatigue and aging 6.

The concept of vicinal water is closely tied to the idea of the interfacial state of water, which is relevant to the behavior of ionic materials in bulk water and the regulation of water in cells and tissues 7. Vicinal water is all water near surfaces, most of the water in cells, and has special properties that are essential for cellular function and adaptation 7. The study of vicinal water and its properties is crucial for understanding the mechanisms of fatigue and aging and for developing new approaches to preventing tissue swelling disorders, organ failure, and other energy-related problems 2.