Tuning nanoscopic water layers on hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces with laser light.

The evolutional function of ordered interfacial water near solid surfaces was postulated by Szent-Györgyi: "Life actually, may have started with building these water structures." Here we report their tunability with laser light on both hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces. On the former, the light caused their depletion--on the latter, an increase in fluidity--as measured by atomic force acoustic microscopy. Interfacial water layers play a key role in cellular recognition. Their tunability promises to revolutionize various fields in biomedical engineering and life sciences.