title: Overview of physical studies of bulk water in biopolymers.
abstract: The Symposium of which this paper is a part, "The State Of Water In The Cell", examines evidence which indicates that the bulk water of the cell has physical properties that are different from those of free water in a dilute aqueous solution. The heterogeneity of environments of water within cells makes direct application of physical studies difficult. However, the major physiologic effect of an ordered state of bulk cell water is solute exclusion, and this is also demonstrated by simple polymer solutions. Such systems have provided an opportunity to show that such water has motional correlation times within an order of magnitude of those of free water, and to model other unique properties of bulk cell water.
mesh_terms: D001704:Biopolymers; D001826:Body Fluids / Q000502:physiology*; D007424:Intracellular Fluid / Q000502:physiology*; D007700:Kinetics; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D001704:Biopolymers; D014867:Water