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This neutron reflectometry study evaluates the structures resulting from different methods of preparing polymer-cushioned lipid bilayers. Four different techniques to deposit a dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) bilayer onto a polyethylenimine (PEI)-coated quartz substrate were examined: 1) vesicle adsorption onto a previously dried polymer layer; 2) vesicle adsorption onto a bare substrate, followed by polymer adsorption; and 3, 4) Langmuir-Blodgett vertical deposition of a lipid monolayer spread over a polymer-containing subphase to form a polymer-supported lipid monolayer, followed by formation of the outer lipid monolayer by either 3) horizontal deposition of the lipid monolayer or 4) vesicle adsorption. We show that the initial conditions of the polymer layer are a critical factor for the successful formation of our desired structure, i.e., a continuous bilayer atop a hydrated PEI layer. Our desired structure was found for all methods investigated except the horizontal deposition. The interaction forces between these polymer-supported bilayers are investigated in a separate paper (Wong, J. Y., C. K. Park, M. Seitz, and J. Israelachvili. 1999. Biophys. J. 77:1458-1468), which indicate that the presence of the polymer cushion significantly alters the interaction potential. These polymer-supported bilayers could serve as model systems for the study of transmembrane proteins under conditions more closely mimicking real cellular membrane environments.

Articles you may be interested inDetection of phase transition of monolayers at the air-water interface by compression using Maxwell displacement current and optical second harmonic generation Morphology and thermochromic phase transition of merocyanine J-aggregate monolayers at the air-water and solid-water interfaces Palmitic acid ͑PA͒ and 1-hexadecanol ͑HD͒ strongly affect the phase transition temperature and molecular packing of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine ͑DPPC͒ monolayers at the air-water interface. The phase behavior and morphology of mixed DPPC/PA as well as DPPC/HD monolayers were determined by pressure-area-isotherms and fluorescence microscopy. The molecular organization was probed by synchrotron grazing incidence x-ray diffraction using a liquid surface diffractometer. Addition of PA or HD to DPPC monolayers increases the temperature of the liquid-expanded to condensed phase transition. X-ray diffraction shows that DPPC forms mixed crystals both with PA and HD over a wide range of mixing ratios. At a surface pressure ͑͒ of 40 mN/m, increasing the amount of the single chain surfactant leads to a reduction in tilt angle of the aliphatic chains from nearly 30°for pure DPPC to almost 0°in a 1:1 molar ratio of DPPC and PA or HD. At this composition we also find closest packing of the aliphatic chains. Further increase of the amount of PA or HD does not change the lattice or the tilt.

Chronocoulometry and the thermodynamic analysis of charge density data were employed to describe the energetics of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) adsorption at the Au(111) electrode surface. Thermodynamic data such as the Gibbs excess, Gibbs energy of adsorption, and the film pressure of adsorbed SDS were determined for a broad range of electrode potentials, charge densities, and bulk SDS concentrations. The present results, combined with our previous scanning probe microscopy (SPM) studies, show that adsorption of SDS at the Au( 111) electrode surface has a two-state character. At small or moderate absolute charge densities, the adsorbed SDS molecules aggregate into hemicylindrical stripelike micelles. This state is well-ordered. The unit cell of its two-dimensional lattice consists of two vectors that are 44 and 5.0 Å long and are oriented at an angle of 70°. The Gibbs excess data indicate that five SDS molecules are accommodated into the unit cell. At large positive charge densities, the hemimicellar aggregates melt to form a condensed film. The surface concentration of SDS doubles upon transition from the hemimicellar to the condensed state. We have performed neutron reflectivity experiments to determine the thickness of the hemimicellar and condensed films. The neutron reflectivity data indicate that the thickness of the condensed film is equal to 20.5 Å and is only 30% larger than the thickness of the hemimicellar state. The electrochemical and neutron reflectivity data indicate that the properties of the condensed state are best explained by a model of an interdigitated film in which half of the sulfate groups are turned toward the metal and half toward the solution.