Production, Characteristics and Biological effects of Protonated Small Water Clusters

Abstract

The production and characteristics of protonated small water clusters (PSWCs) were reported in this work, where in electrospray ionization (ESI) of pure water, the species obtained were singly charged molecular ions consisting of 2, 3, 4 or 5 water molecules attached to a hydrogen ion, [(H2O)n+H]+, where n = 2, 3, 4 or 5. We proposed a new type of PSWCs structure: 2, 3, 4, 5 water molecules wrapped around a hydrogen ion which is located at the electrical and geometric center, forming a very stable molecular structure. Furthermore, biological tests of the PSWCs on mitochondrial function of intestinal epithelial cells and liver cells in mice showed the better therapeutic effect on inflammatory bowel diseases compared to that of the biologic agent Infliximab.