When building with molecules, it is important to understand how they stick to each other. The problem is that the methods used to measure this are themselves an influencing factor on the process. In today’s Nature Communications, researchers at TU Eindhoven, led by Professor Bert Meijer, present a method that excludes this influence and which can measure how fast small molecules detach from a larger molecular entity dissolved in water. What is special about this method is that it is normally used for quite a different application.