Evaluating polymeric biomaterial–environment interfaces by Langmuir monolayer techniques

Dangling OD confined in a Langmuir monolayer.

Novel structural features of water confined in lipid Langmuir monolayers are revealed. Using vibrational sum frequency generation spectroscopy at the air/D2O/monolayer interface, dangling OD bonds were investigated. Upon increasing the monolayer surface coverage, the dangling OD stretching mode showed a marked frequency red-shift as well as spectral structure. Furthermore, the dangling OD was f...

Photocontrol of Protein Conformation in a Langmuir Monolayer

We report a method to control the conformation of a weak polyampholyte (the protein β-casein) in Langmuir monolayers by light, even though the protein is not photosensitive. Our approach is to couple the monolayer state to a photochemical reaction excited in the liquid subphase. The conformational transition of the protein molecule is triggered through its sensitivity to a subphase bulk field (...

Supporting Information Dangling OD Confined in a Langmuir Monolayer

Effects of cardiolipin on membrane morphology: a Langmuir monolayer study.

Cardiolipin (CL) is a complex phospholipid that is specifically found in mitochondria. Owing to the association of the CL levels with mitochondrial physiopathology such as in Parkinson's disease, we study the molecular effect of CL on membrane organization using model Langmuir monolayer, fluorescence microscopy, and x-ray reflectivity. We find that the liquid-expanded phase in membranes increas...

Pt nanocrystals: shape control and Langmuir-Blodgett monolayer formation.

We report the synthesis of monodisperse Pt nanocrystals with three different shapes-cubes, cuboctahedra, and octahedra, selectively, with similar sizes of 9-10 nm by a modified polyol process. We found that addition of silver ion enhances the crystal growth rate along 100, and essentially determines the shape and surface structure of the Pt nanocrystals. After the reaction, the silver species c...