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Unexpected Linkage Between Unstirred Layers, Exclusion Zones, and Water

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Phase Transitions in Cell Biology

Abstract

We make the case that the unstirred layers of classical physiology arise from the influence of surfaces on the structure, and therefore the properties, of contiguous water. Traditionally, unstirred layers have been thought to arise merely out of stagnant volumes adjacent to membranes and other surfaces. These volumes would have to extend tens to hundreds of micrometers in order to account for the observed effects. On the other hand, charged and hydrophilic surfaces have been shown to impact water out to surprising distances, on the order of hundreds of micrometers. We present evidence that it is this water-structuring effect that is responsible for the unstirred layer.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Box 355061, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    Gerald H. Pollack

  2. Section of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Bodega Marine Laboratory, University of California, 2099 Westside Road, Davis, Bodega Bay 94923, USA

    James Clegg

Authors
  1. Gerald H. Pollack
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  2. James Clegg
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Box 355061, Seattle, WA 98195, USA

    Gerald H. Pollack

  2. PO Box 2039, Merced, CA 95344, USA

    Wei-Chun Chin

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Pollack, G.H., Clegg, J. (2008). Unexpected Linkage Between Unstirred Layers, Exclusion Zones, and Water. In: Pollack, G.H., Chin, WC. (eds) Phase Transitions in Cell Biology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8651-9_9

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