排斥区研究综述

A Review of Exclusion Zone Research

排斥区是指溶质分子在亲水界面附近被排斥而形成的一个几百微米区域,与普通的自由水相比,更加有序化,具有很多独特的理化特性,被认为是一种液晶态,即水的液态、固态、气态之外第四态。在生物学领域,如血管内皮细胞、植物根和肌肉等膜的亲水界面,也发现了排斥区。由于细胞膜的磷脂双分子层等亲水界面在生物体中广泛存在,生物体内细胞膜附近的区域很可能也是有序化的水,因此研究排斥区的各种物化性质对于理解和探索生命科学的本质具有重大意义,本身具有十分广阔的应用前景。在本文中,我们主要对排斥区的发现和发展历程进行综述,并从理化性质、结构特点和成因、受到光和电磁照射的影响以及在生物和医学领域的应用这几个方面做了详细描述和讨论,并对排斥区的特性进行了总结,对研究其的必要性进行了阐述,展望了它在生命科学研究中的应用前景。

Colloidal and molecular solutes in suspension are excluded from the vicinity of various hydrophilic surfaces, leaving an exclusion zone（EZ） of hundreds of micrometers. Compared to bulk water, this interfacial area is more ordered and its physical properties are more different. The water of the EZ, also named the fourth phase water, has been proposed to be in a liquid crystal state, beyond solid, liquid, and vapor. Such exclusion zones were observed in the vicinity of many types of hydrophilic surface including vascular endothelial cells, plant roots as well as muscles. Since the phospholipid bilayer and other hydrophilic interfaces are widely present in the organism, the region near the cell membranes is likely to be ordered water. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the physical and chemical properties of the exclusion zone to understand and explore the essence of life sciences. In this paper, we give a general review of the discoveries and developments of the exclusion zone, and describe it from various aspects such as the physical and chemical properties, structural characteristics and causes, the impacts of light and electromagnetic radiation, and biological applications. At the end of this review, the characteristics of the exclusion zone are summarized, and the necessity of its research is expounded. Also, its applications in life science are prospected.