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Water is an interesting substance of great biological importance. Hydrophobic hydration has been
identified as a key mediator - and often instigator - of various aqueous biological activities, including protein
folding. Understanding hydrophobic hydration is the cornerstone to understanding these activities. To this end,
our research focuses on studying aqueous solutions of hydrophobic molecules using Raman-SMCR. Raman-SMCR is a technique
that combines Raman spectroscopy with Self-Modeling Curve Resolution (SMCR) and similiar deconvolution techniques.
This enables us to decompose experimental spectra into solute correlated (SC) and solvent components. The SC components
contain features from the solute itself, such as the C-H and C-C vibrational bands, as well as the water molecules
perturbed by the solute. This allows us to see unique features not previously seen within the liquid phase of water,
such as dangling (or "free") OH bonds at the molecular level. Our current projects focus on hydrophobic association,
protein solvation, and ion affinity for molecular oil/water interfaces.
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