Proteins do not need to be surrounded by water to carry out their vital biological functions, according to new research. Scientists used a state of the art neutron scattering technique to demonstrate that when myoglobin, an oxygen-binding protein found in the muscle tissue of vertebrates, is enclosed in a sheath of surfactant molecules, it moves in the same way as when it is surrounded by water. These motions are essential if a protein is to perform its biological function, and their findings make proteins a viable material for use in new wound dressings or even as chemical gas sensors.

Source: Neutron scattering explains how myoglobin can perform without water