Concerning the Thermodynamics of Molecular Recognition in Aqueous and OrganicMedia. Evidence for Significant Heat Capacity Effects

摘要

As molecular recognition continues to develop into a major focus of modernchemistry, efforts to understand the fundamental forces involved in noncovalent binding are increasing. In abiotic model systems, a large number of binding association constants have been determined, and these lead naturally to the free energies of binding. In principle, evaluation of Ka over a significant temperature range can lead through standard relations to the enthalpy and entropy of association. These latter terms can provide insights into the physical nature of the binding interaction. For example, classical hydrophobic binding is often associated with a large, favorable (positive) entropy change due to solvent ordering effects.