Search results for "layer"
showing 10 items of 2667 documents
Polymeric monolayers and liposomes as models for biomembranes. How to bridge the gap between polymer science and membrane biology?
1984
This contribution deals with the stabilization of membrane model systems, especially vesicles. The desired further biological functionalization of these stabilized polymeric membranes is possible via the incorporation of proteins. Addition of natural lipids to polymerizable membranes and degradation of the unpolymerized component after polymerization allows selective opening of otherwise stable compartments. Finally, first attempts are made to combine biological properties of natural cells and the durability of polymerized membranes via fusion of synthetic vesicles with natural cells.
Langmuir–Blodgett films based on inorganic molecular complexes with magnetic or optical properties
2005
Langmuir and Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) films of a great variety of molecular metal complexes with interesting magnetic or optical properties have been prepared in the last few years. Some of the results obtained by our group and others are summarized in this article. (i) LB films of polyoxometalates (POM) were first prepared taking advantage of the adsorption properties of these cluster anions along a positively charged monolayer of an organic surfactant spread in water. A correct choice of the POM allowed the preparation of LB films with magnetic, electrochromic, or luminescent properties. Besides this semiamphiphilic method, two new methods to prepare LB films of POMs have been developed by …
Adaptive Wetting-Adaptation in Wetting
2018
Many surfaces reversibly change their structure and interfacial energy upon being in contact with a liquid. Such surfaces adapt to a specific liquid. We propose the first order kinetic model to describe dynamic contact angles of such adaptive surfaces. The model is general and does not refer to a particular adaptation process. The aim of the proposed model is to provide a quantitative description of adaptive wetting and to link changes in contact angles to microscopic adaptation processes. By introducing exponentially relaxing interfacial energies and applying Young's equation locally, we predict a change of advancing and receding contact angles depending on the velocity of the contact line…
Micropatterning of neurons using organic substrates in culture
1997
Abstract In this study, we have used spatially defined surfaces of organic thin films to micropattern the outgrowth of central nervous system neurons in culture. Glass substrates were first chemically modified with synthetic peptides derived from an extra-cellular matrix protein laminin to couple a functionality that promotes a neuron-substrate interaction. The modification procedure was verified using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The functionality of the modified glass surfaces was examined by growing neurons dissociated from mammalian central nervous tissues in culture. Spatially defined surfaces of the peptide were then fabricated by selectively attaching the peptide to coplanar sur…
Synthesis and phase behaviour of liquid-crystalline side group polyesters
1990
Abstract Several series of liquid-crystalline side group polymers with a polyester backbone structure have been synthesized using mesogenic diethylmalonate and 1,3-propanediol derivatives. The structures of the polymer backbone and the mesogenic units have been varied systematically. As shown by differential scanning calorimetry, polarizing microscopy and X-ray diffraction, the side group polyesters exhibit nematic and/or smectic mesophases. Polyesters synthesized from mesogenic diethylmalonate derivatives can tolerate long non-mesogenic segments in the polymer main chain without losing their liquid crystal properties. X-ray studies suggest that some of the smectic polymers exhibit interdig…
Self-organization of amphiphilic N-acylated linear polyethyleneimines: investigation of a reversible monolayer collapse
1996
Abstract Poly-N-4-decyloxybenzoylethyleneimine, highly crystalline in bulk, forms a stable monolayer at the air-water interface which undergoes a reversible collapse into a probable bilayer structure at higher surface pressures. We achieved transfer both from the monolayer and “bilayer” region of the polymer film at the water surface onto hydrophilic and hydrophobized quartz supports. Based on X-ray investigations on the deposited Langmuir-Blodgett films, a possible mechanism for the reversible collapse is proposed.
Silica-coated Au@ZnO Janus particles and their stability in epithelial cells
2020
Multicomponent particles have emerged in recent years as new compartmentalized colloids with two sides of different chemistry or polarity that have opened up a wide field of unique applications in medicine, biochemistry, optics, physics and chemistry. A drawback of particles containing a ZnO hemisphere is their low stability in biological environment due to the amphoteric properties of Zn2+. Therefore we have synthesized monodisperse Au@ZnO Janus particles by seed-mediated nucleation and growth whose ZnO domain was coated selectively with a thin SiO2 layer as a protection from the surrounding environment that imparts stability in aqueous media while the Au domain remained untouched. The thi…
Polyreactions in ordered systems: Polymerization of octadecyl methacrylate in monolayers at the gas–water interface
1977
The ultraviolet-initiated polymerization of octadecyl methacrylate (ODMA, octadecyl 2-methyl-2-propenoate) as a monomolecular layer at the gas-water interface was studied. The polymerization was carried out at 27°C at the nitrogen-water interface; air inhibits the polymerization. At 27°C the ODMA monolayer exhibits three different states which were characterized by surface pressure-area diagrams and by surface potential measurements. The ODMA monolayer was polymerized under constant surface pressure in the range between 0 and 10 dyne/cm. The polymerization was followed by recording the contraction of the film. The conversion was determined by comparison of the area per monomer unit during p…
Influence of hydrocolloid nature on the structure and functional properties of emulsified edible films
2009
Abstract To investigate the influence of polymer behaviors on the structure and the functional properties of emulsified films, agar (AG) and cassava starch (CAS) were used as hydrocolloid continuous phases in which hydrogenated vegetable oil (VGB81) was dispersed. Different ratios of hydrophilic/hydrophobic materials (HB/HL) were also used in film formulations to study the evolution of film-emulsion structure. Microscopically observed, VGB–CAS emulsified films exhibit a similar bilayer structure. However, there was just a migration and an aggregation of lipid particles. There was no coalescence which could form a continuous “lipid layer” necessary for an effective barrier. Moreover, they co…
Biologizing titanium alloy implant material with morphogenetically active polyphosphate
2015
As a further step towards a new generation of bone implant materials, we developed a procedure for biological functionalization of titanium alloy surfaces with inorganic calcium polyphosphate (Ca-polyP). This polymer has been demonstrated to exhibit morphogenetic activity. The coating of titanium oxidized Ti-6Al-4V scaffolds with biologically active amorphous Ca-polyP microparticles is formed by Ca2+ ion bridges to the silane coupling agent APTMS. This surface is durable and stable as an almost homogeneous Ca-polyP layer onto the metal. The homogenously coated Ca-polyP titanium scaffold was found to be biologically active and supported the growth and functional activity of bone cell-related…