Helical integrity and microsolvation of transmembrane domains from Flaviviridae envelope glycoproteins

► Microsolvation of bridging ion pairs in transmembrane helix dimers. ► Microsolvation in membrane core stabilizes ion pairs and H-bonds between TM helices. ► Position of charged/polar amino acids affects the degree of their hydration. ► Buried waters exchange with bulk waters on timescales of tens of nanoseconds. ► Similar findings for H-segment dimers and for E1-E2 dimers from HCV.