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Water shapes and defines the properties of biological systems. Therefore, understanding the nature of the mutual interaction between water and biological systems is of primary importance for a proper assessment of biological activity and the development of new drugs and vaccines. A handy way to characterize the interactions between biological systems and water is to analyze their impact on water density and dynamics in the proximity of the interfaces. It is well established that water bulk density and dynamical properties are recovered at distances in the order of $sim1$~nm from the surface of biological systems. Such evidence led to the definition of emph{hydration} water as the thin layer of water covering the surface of biological systems and affecting-defining their properties and functionality. Here, we review some of our latest contributions showing that phospholipid membranes affect the structural properties and the hydrogen bond network of water at greater distances than the commonly evoked $sim1$~nm from the membrane surface. Our results imply that the concept of hydration water should be revised or extended, and pave the way to a deeper understanding of the mutual interactions between water and biological systems.
Graphene nanochannels are relevant for their possible applications, as in water purification, and for the challenge of understanding how they change the properties of confined liquids. Here, we use all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to investiga
The effects of static electric field on the dynamics of lysozyme and its hydration water have been investigated by means of incoherent quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS). Measurements were performed on lysozyme samples, hydrated respectively wit
Dynamical mechanical analysis (DMA)(f=0.2 - 100 Hz) is used to study the dynamics of confined water in mesoporous Gelsil (2.6 nm and 5 nm pores) and Vycor (10 nm) in the temperature range from T=80 K to 300 K. Confining water into nanopores partly su
The formation of smart emulsions or foams whose stability can be controlled on-demand by switching external parameters is of great interest for basic research and applications. An emerging group of smart stabilizers are microgels, which are nano- and
Water is a ubiquitous liquid with unique physico-chemical properties, whose nature has shaped our planet and life as we know it. Water in restricted geometries has different properties than in bulk. Confinement can prevent low-temperature crystalliza