Hofmeister effects in living organisms

Hofmeister specific ion effects occur everywhere, in bulk solutions of aqueous and non-aqueous solvents and at interfaces (air/water, oil/water, solid/water, polymer/water, etc.). Hofmeister phenomena consist in differences in behavior of electrolytes in solution, usually above 0.1 M (but in some cases even in the micromolar range). Hofmeister found that salts can be ordered in a particular order - the Hofmeister series - according to their effectiveness in precipitating egg yolk albumin from a water dispersion. The specificity of ion effects in biology and biochemistry is universal and essential to life. And their relevance to geology and life sciences is obvious. The challenge to classical physical chemistry is that it does not explain Hofmeister effects. We observe that the most important ions that regulate life are Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, CO32-, HCO3-, SO42-, Cl-, H2PO4-, HPO42-, and a group of transition metals like Zn2+, Mn2+, Cu2+ at very small concentrations. In this contribution we will focus on one aspect of Hofmeister phenomena that is almost completely unknown: the effect of different ions on living organisms.