Ellipsometrical and SEM Study of Ferritin Adsorption οn a Gold Surface

Abstract

The adsorption of horse spleen ferritin on gold surface is studied with null ellipsometry and scanning electron microscopy. The high sensitivity and in situ advantage of ellipsometry make it very attractive for studies of ultrathin biomolecular layers. The influence of pH and protein concentration in solution on the adsorption kinetics was interpreted using ex situ scanning electron microscopy shots and computer modeling of the system "prism-gold film-adsorbed layer-solution". It seems that the first fast stage comprises nucleation process occurring at active sites and the following slow multistage process of a protein film growth. The data about adsorption kinetics of protein and the structure of the adsorbate layers obtained in this study enable understanding of such processes in real biological system, e.g. the protein adsorption on blood vessels and tissues in pathological processes.