Biomedical Engineering Department, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
Biomeasurement Technology Laboratory, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, Hyogo 657-8501, Japan.
Molecules. 2019 Jul 28;24(15):2742. doi: 10.3390/molecules24152742.
Aquaphotomics is a young scientific discipline based on innovative knowledge of water molecular network, which as an intrinsic part of every aqueous system is being shaped by all of its components and the properties of the environment. With a high capacity for hydrogen bonding, water molecules are extremely sensitive to any changes the system undergoes. In highly aqueous systems-especially biological-water is the most abundant molecule. Minute changes in system elements or surroundings affect multitude of water molecules, causing rearrangements of water molecular network. Using light of various frequencies as a probe, the specifics of water structure can be extracted from the water spectrum, indirectly providing information about all the internal and external elements influencing the system. The water spectral pattern hence becomes an integrative descriptor of the system state. Aquaphotomics and the new knowledge of water originated from the field of near infrared spectroscopy. This technique resulted in significant findings about water structure-function relationships in various systems contributing to a better understanding of basic life phenomena. From this foundation, aquaphotomics started integration with other disciplines into systematized science from which a variety of applications ensued. This review will present the basics of this emerging science and its technological potential.
水宏观分子光子学是一门新兴的科学学科，其基础是对水分子网络的创新认识，而水分子网络作为每个含水系统的固有组成部分，受到所有系统成分和环境特性的影响。由于水分子具有很强的形成氢键的能力，因此对系统发生的任何变化都极为敏感。在高度含水的系统中（尤其是生物系统），水是最丰富的分子。系统元素或环境的微小变化会影响大量水分子，导致水分子网络的重新排列。利用各种频率的光作为探针，可以从水中提取出特定的结构信息，从而间接提供有关影响系统的所有内部和外部因素的信息。因此，水的光谱模式成为系统状态的综合描述符。水宏观分子光子学和由此产生的关于水的新知识源于近红外光谱领域。该技术在各种系统中对水的结构-功能关系有了重大发现，从而有助于更好地理解基本生命现象。在此基础上，水宏观分子光子学开始与其他学科整合，形成系统化的科学，由此产生了各种应用。本文将介绍这门新兴科学的基础知识及其技术潜力。
