WATER AND SOLUTIONS

Let’s talk about water. Water is everywhere in your body - your blood, your tissues, inside and outside of your cells. The way biological molecules interact with water - their hydrophilic or hydrophobic nature - can determine their shape and function. Acid/base reactions are loosely defined as the transfer of protons between different molecules. In the presence of water, these reactions affect the concentration of protons in the solution - the pH level. Chemists use titration to experimentally determine the concentration of an acid or base in solution. Solubility describes how well a substance dissolves in water - ionic compounds dissolve into charged ions, which can then react in electrochemical cells. The transfer of electrons in an electrochemical reaction is called oxidation/reduction, or a redox reaction.

These are the three general ways we can think about chemical reactions - thermodynamic/kinetic, oxidation/reduction, or acid/base. We can then apply these same concepts to the biochemical reactions that take place in our bodies.