Highlights
- A portion of liquid water exists in a coherent phase where all molecules oscillate in unison, as proposed by the Emilio Del Giudice et al. QED-framework.
- Interfacial water adjacent to hydrophilic surfaces (so-called “Exclusion Zone” or EZ water) exhibits anomalous properties such as charge separation and solute exclusion, which can be derived from the coherent water phase.
- Because in living systems much water is near macromolecular surfaces, coherent water may play a special role in biology — acting not just as a passive solvent but as a structured, active medium.
Introduction
In the chapter titled “The Origin and the Special Role of Coherent Water in Living Systems”, Del Giudice, Vladimir Voeikov, Alberto Tedeschi and Giuseppe Vitiello present an advanced theoretical picture of liquid water: instead of being a uniform medium, water is seen as comprising two phases — one coherent (phase-correlated) and the other non-coherent (gas-like).
The authors explore how these coherent phases manifest particularly near interfaces (hydrophilic surfaces), leading to interfacial water with distinctive physicochemical behaviours—and consider how such water may underlie many biological phenomena.
Overview
The underlying premise is drawn from quantum electrodynamics (QED) applied to condensed matter: when water molecules collectively interact with the electromagnetic vacuum field and reach critical density, they can enter coherent domains (CDs) where they oscillate in phase.
These coherent water domains differ substantially from typical bulk water. For example, interfacial water—often adjacent to hydrophilic surfaces in cells or tissues—shows properties such as exclusion of solutes (hence Exclusion Zone or EZ water), generation of electrical potential, and distinct dynamics.
Because in biological environments water is seldom far from macromolecules or membranes, a significant portion of it may exist in such interfacial/coherent states. The paper argues that these states may thus play a “special role” in living systems — influencing energy transduction, signalling, ionic flows, and structural support.
Key Findings
- The theoretical QED model predicts that liquid water can form coherent domains under appropriate conditions; these domains involve a large number of molecules oscillating in synchrony, and they coexist with a non-coherent phase.
- Experimental work on interfacial water shows layers near hydrophilic surfaces of up to hundreds of microns thick with anomalous behaviours (charge separation, solute exclusion) consistent with coherent-phase predictions.
- The authors suggest that the physical mechanisms of “binding” or structuring of water near biomolecules can be explained via coherent domain theory rather than classic hydrogen-bond network models. This may impact how hydration shells, biomolecular conformations and intracellular water are understood.
- The paper posits that coherent water may act as an energetic and informational matrix in living systems: for example, forming extended networks for proton or electron conduction, coupling biomolecular processes via electromagnetic coherence, and contributing to the phenomenon of life at a fundamental level.
Conclusion
Del Giudice and colleagues offer a provocative reconceptualisation of water: far from being merely the background medium of life’s chemistry, water — specifically in its coherent phase and especially near biological interfaces — may be deeply woven into the structure, dynamics and energetics of living systems.
While much of the work is theoretical or indirect, the framework invites researchers to reconsider hydration, interfacial water, biomolecular interactions and cellular water from a coherence and electrodynamic lens. If validated further, this could open new horizons in biophysics, biomaterials design and our understanding of how life organises itself at the molecular and mesoscale.
References: Del Giudice E, Voeikov V, Tedeschi A, Vitiello G. The origin and the special role of coherent water in living systems. In: Fels D, Cifra M, Scholkmann F, editors. Fields of the Cell. Trivandrum: Research Signpost; 2015. p. 95–111. ISBN: 978-81-308-0544-3.
Link to full publication: Read here