Visualization of hydrophobic polyelectrolytes using atomic force microscopy in solution
We have used atomic force microscopy to study the morphology of hydrophobic polyelectrolytes adsorbed on surfaces. The polyelectrolytes consisted of polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) chains made with three charge densities: 32%, 67%, and 92%. They were adsorbed on two types of surfaces: mica, and phosphol...
| Publié dans: | Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids. - 1985. - 24(2008), 16 vom: 19. Aug., Seite 8950-3 |
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| Auteur principal: | |
| Autres auteurs: | , |
| Format: | Article en ligne |
| Langue: | English |
| Publié: |
2008
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| Accès à la collection: | Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids |
| Sujets: | Journal Article |
| Résumé: | We have used atomic force microscopy to study the morphology of hydrophobic polyelectrolytes adsorbed on surfaces. The polyelectrolytes consisted of polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) chains made with three charge densities: 32%, 67%, and 92%. They were adsorbed on two types of surfaces: mica, and phospholipid bilayers made of mixed neutral and cationic lipids. We show that the chains with a low charge density (32%) are collapsed in spherical globules while highly charged chains (67% and 92%) are fully extended. End-to-end distances and contour lengths of the extended chains were measured. Statistical analysis shows that the persistence length of these chains depends on the surface where they adsorb. On lipid bilayers, highly ordered monolayers are formed upon increase of the proportion of cationic phospholipids. These results show that highly charged PSS chains behave in a similar manner than the stiffer, hydrophilic DNA when adsorbed on surfaces. It could lead to the design of new types of nanostructured surfaces using polyelectrolyte molecules synthesized with specific properties |
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| Description: | Date Completed 17.09.2008 Date Revised 14.08.2008 published: Print-Electronic Citation Status PubMed-not-MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1520-5827 |
| DOI: | 10.1021/la8009139 |