PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Sharp, KA
AU  - Nicholls, A
AU  - Fine, RF
AU  - Honig, B
TI  - Reconciling the magnitude of the microscopic and macroscopic hydrophobic effects
AID  - 10.1126/science.2011744
DP  - 1991 Apr 05
TA  - Science
PG  - 106--109
VI  - 252
IP  - 5002
4099  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/252/5002/106.short
4100  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/252/5002/106.full
SO  - Science1991 Apr 05; 252
AB  - The magnitude of the hydrophobic effect, as measured from the surface area dependence of the solubilities of hydrocarbons in water, is generally thought to be about 25 calories per mole per square angstrom (cal mol-1 A-2). However, the surface tension at a hydrocarbon-water interface, which is a "macroscopic" measure of the hydrophobic effect, is approximately 72 cal mol-1 A-2. In an attempt to reconcile these values, alkane solubility data have been reevaluated to account for solute-solvent size differences, leading to a revised "microscopic" hydrophobic effect of 47 cal mol-1 A-2. This value, when used in a simple geometric model for the curvature dependence of the hydrophobic effect, predicts a macroscopic alkane-water surface tension that is close to the macroscopic value.