Robust hydrophobic surfaces displaying different surface roughness scales while maintaining the same wettability

A range of surfaces coated with spherical silica particles, covering the size range from nanometer to micrometer, have been produced using Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) deposition. The particles were characterized both in suspension and in the Langmuir trough to optimize the surface preparation procedure. By limiting the particle aggregation and surface layer failures during the preparation steps, well-defined monolayers with a close-packed structure have been obtained for all particle sizes. Thus, this procedure led to structured surfaces with a characteristic variation in the amplitude and spatial roughness parameters. In order to obtain robust surfaces, a sintering protocol and an AFM-based wear test to determine the stability of the deposited surface layer were employed. Hydrophobization of the LB films followed by water contact angle measurements showed, for all tested particle sizes, the same increase in contact angle compared to the contact angle of a flat hydrophobic surface. This indicates nearly hexagonal packing and gives evidence for nearly complete surface wetting of the surface features.

Interactions between crossed hair fibers at the nanoscale

The atomic force microscope fiber probe is used to directly measure the forces and friction between two human hairs under various conditions. It is shown that the forces between the hair fibers in solution can be well explained by a DLVO interaction and that cationic surfactant modifies the interactions in a manner entirely consistent with current views of adsorption behavior. A Coulombic attraction occurs between the crossed hair fibers in air due to the heterogeneity of the surface, and at shorter separations a clear dispersion interaction is observed. Exposure of the hair to a bleaching solution leads to the removal of the adhesion and solely a double-layer interaction. Two crossed hair fibers obey Amontons' classic law of friction, with a linear relation between applied load and frictional force, allowing the determination of a friction coefficient; positively charged surfactant adsorption is shown to reduce the friction coefficient between the fibers in a manner consistent with boundary lubrication by a palisade layer.

Direct surface force measurements of polyelectrolyte multilayer films containing nanocrystalline cellulose

Polyelectrolyte multilayer films containing nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) and poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) make up a new class of nanostructured composite with applications ranging from coatings to biomedical devices. Moreover, these materials are amenable to surface force studies using colloid-probe atomic force microscopy (CP-AFM). For electrostatically assembled films with either NCC or PAH as the outermost layer, surface morphology was investigated by AFM and wettability was examined by contact angle measurements. By varying the surrounding ionic strength and pH, the relative contributions from electrostatic, van der Waals, steric, and polymer bridging interactions were evaluated. The ionic cross-linking in these films rendered them stable under all solution conditions studied although swelling at low pH and high ionic strength was inferred. The underlying polymer layer in the multilayered film was found to dictate the dominant surface forces when polymer migration and chain extension were facilitated. The precontact normal forces between a silica probe and an NCC-capped multilayer film were monotonically repulsive at pH values where the material surfaces were similarly and fully charged. In contrast, at pH 3.5, the anionic surfaces were weakly charged but the underlying layer of cationic PAH was fully charged and attractive forces dominated due to polymer bridging from extended PAH chains. The interaction with an anionic carboxylic acid probe showed similar behavior to the silica probe; however, for a cationic amine probe with an anionic NCC-capped film, electrostatic double-layer attraction at low pH, and electrostatic double-layer repulsion at high pH, were observed. Finally, the effect of the capping layer was studied with an anionic probe, which indicated that NCC-capped films exhibited purely repulsive forces which were larger in magnitude than the combination of electrostatic double-layer attraction and steric repulsion, measured for PAH-capped films. Wherever possible, DLVO theory was used to fit the measured surface forces and apparent surface potentials and surface charge densities were calculated.

Molecular structure upon compression and stability toward oxidation of Langmuir films of unsaturated fatty acids: a vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy study

Vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy (VSFS) has been used to determine the stability toward oxidation in air of a series of unsaturated fatty acids, measuring as a function of time the changes in the chemical structure and conformational order of films spread on a Langmuir trough. The fatty acids studied consisted of a 20-carbon backbone with increasing numbers of cis double bonds in the chain: 11c-eicosenoic acid (20:1 EA, omega-9), 11c,14c-eicosadienoic acid (20:2 EA, omega-6), and 11c,14c,17c-eicosatrienoic acid (20:3 EA, omega-3). Measurements at constant surface pressure show that double bonds are lost from the surface region and that drops in intensity of the vinyl CH stretch are detectable within a few minutes of spreading the monolayer. The results are consistent with the fatty acid peroxidation free radical mechanism. The sum frequency spectra also reveal that what remains on the surface is conformationally more disordered with a larger number of gauche defects. The oxidation kinetics are found to be strongly dependent on the packing density of the monolayer, being more stable at higher pressures. Oxidation can be avoided by purging the system in an inert atmosphere. Finally, the molecular structure upon compression was tracked in unoxidized monolayers. The results suggest that the packing and orientation of the double bond sections of all three unsaturated fatty acids show remarkable similarities, with the direction of the double bonds approximately parallel to each other irrespective of the number of unsaturations in the chain, with the 20:3 EA probably forming "iron-angle" structures. The possibility of unsaturated chains in a "hairpin" configuration is discarded for area per molecules smaller than approximately 50 A(2), which corresponds to the lowest surface pressure measured with VSFS.

Nonionic surfactant adsorption at the ethylammonium nitrate surface: a neutron reflectivity and vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy study

The adsorbed layers of polyoxyethylene n-alkyl ether surfactants C(12)E(4), C(14)E(4), and C(16)E(4) at the EAN surface have a headgroup layer that is thin and compact (only approximately 30 vol % EAN). The headgroups do not adopt a preferred orientation and are disordered within the ethylene oxide layer. Alkyl tails contain a significant number of gauche defects indicating a high degree of conformational disorder. The thickness of the tail layer increases with increasing alkyl chain length, while the headgroup layer shows little change. Lowering the C(12)E(4) concentration from 1 to 0.1 wt % decreases the adsorbed amount, and the headgroup layer becomes thinner and less solvated, whereas C(14)E(4) and C(16)E(4) adsorbed layers are unaffected by dilution over the same concentration range. The C(16)E(4) layer thickness increases and area per molecule decreases on warming to 60 degrees C, but the adsorbed layer structures of C(12)E(4) and C(14)E(4) are unchanged. Both effects are attributed to surfactant solubility.

Phospholipid monolayers probed by vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy: instability of unsaturated phospholipids

The surface specific technique vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy has been applied to in situ studies of the degradation of Langmuir monolayers of 1,2-diacyl-phosphocholines with various degrees of unsaturation in the aliphatic chains. To monitor the degradation of the phospholipids, the time-dependent change of the monolayer area at constant surface pressure and the sum frequency intensity of the vinyl CH stretch at the carbon-carbon double bonds were measured. The data show a rapid degradation of monolayers of phospholipids carrying unsaturated aliphatic chains compared to the stable lipids carrying fully saturated chains when exposed to the ambient laboratory air. In addition, the degradation of the phospholipids can be inhibited by purging the ambient air with nitrogen. This instability may be attributed to spontaneous degradation by oxidation mediated by various reactive species in the air. To further elucidate the process of lipid oxidation in biological membranes artificial Langmuir monolayers probed by a surface specific spectroscopic technique as in this study can serve as a model system for studying the degradation/oxidation of cell membrane constituents.

Adsorption of lysozyme, beta-casein and their layer-by-layer formation on hydrophilic surfaces: Effect of ionic strength

The adsorbed amount and layer structure of lysozyme, beta-casein and mixed layers of the two proteins were studied on hydrophilic silica and quartz surfaces using the following techniques: ellipsometry, quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) and total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF). Particular emphasis was put on the effect of solution ionic strength on the layer formation. Both lysozyme and beta-casein showed a higher affinity for the silica surface when adsorbed from a solution of low ionic strength even though beta-casein and silica are negatively charged at the pH used. No beta-casein remained adsorbed after rinsing with a 150mM buffer solution. The adsorbed amount of lysozyme on silica exceeded a monolayer coverage irrespective of the solution conditions and displayed a rigid structure. beta-Casein forms more than a single layer on pre-adsorbed lysozyme; an inner flat layer and an outer layer with an extended structure, which largely desorbs on rinsing. The build-up through sequential adsorption of lysozyme and beta-casein is favoured at intermediate and high ionic strength. The total adsorbed amount increased slightly with each deposition cycle and the mixed lysozyme/beta-casein layers contain higher amounts of protein compared to those of pure lysozyme or beta-casein. Sequential adsorption gives rise to a proteinaceous layer consisting of both lysozyme and beta-casein. The protein layers are probably highly interpenetrated with no clear separation between them.

Adhesion dynamics for cellulose nanocomposites

The efficiency of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) as a matrix polymer for cellulose nanocomposites has been investigated at the macromolecular contact level using atomic force microscopy in a colloidal probe configuration. Model cellulose microspheres grafted with PCL were prepared via ring-opening polymerization. Force measurements between the functionalized particles revealed the adhesion to be highly dependent on the contact time because of a diffusion-controlled mechanism. Moreover, an increase of the temperature to 60 degrees C (close to T(m) for the PCL graft) greatly enhanced the adhesion at the polymer-polymer interface, demonstrating the importance of entanglements in the annealing of composite materials.

Tunable nanolubrication between dual-responsive polyionic grafts

This study reports on a direct approach of quantitatively probing the nanotribological response of chemically end-grafted polyions. A combination of a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation and atomic force microscopy, in the now well established colloidal probe mode, was utilized to investigate the stimuli-induced lubrication behavior between poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) grafts on gold. Force and friction measurements showed reversible transitions of up to an order of magnitude difference induced by varying the solvent conditions. The greatly enhanced lubrication observed at low pH was attributed to the formation of a repulsive, highly charged, hydrated cushion. At high pH the friction was significantly increased. The system turned attractive above the lower critical solution temperature with a small friction reduction interpreted as being due to nanoscopic flattening at the interfacial boundary.

Interactions of hydroxyapatite surfaces: conditioning films of human whole saliva

Hydroxyapatite is a very interesting material given that it is the main component in tooth enamel and because of its uses in bone implant applications. Therefore, not only the characterization of its surface is of high relevance but also designing reliable methods to study the interfacial properties of films adsorbed onto it. In this paper we apply the colloidal probe atomic force microscopy method to investigate the surface properties of commercially available hydroxyapatite surfaces (both microscopic particles and macroscopic discs) in terms of interfacial and frictional forces. In this way, we find that hydroxyapatite surfaces at physiological relevant conditions are slightly negatively charged. The surfaces were then exposed to human whole saliva, and the surface properties were re-evaluated. A thick film was formed that was very resistant to mechanical stress. The frictional measurements demonstrated that the film was indeed highly lubricating, supporting the argument that this system may prove to be a relevant model for evaluating dental and implant systems.

AFM-porosimetry: density and pore volume measurements of particulate materials

We introduced the novel technique of AFM-porosimetry and applied it to measure the total pore volume of porous particles with a spherical geometry. The methodology is based on using an atomic force microscope as a balance to measure masses of individual particles. Several particles within the same batch were measured, and by plotting particle mass versus particle volume, the bulk density of the sample can be extracted from the slope of the linear fit. The pore volume is then calculated from the densities of the bulk and matrix materials, respectively. In contrast to nitrogen sorption and mercury porosimetry, this method is capable of measuring the total pore volume regardless of pore size distribution and pore connectivity. In this study, three porous samples were investigated by AFM-porosimetry: one ordered mesoporous sample and two disordered foam structures. All samples were based on a matrix of amorphous silica templated by a block copolymer, Pluronic F127, swollen to various degrees with poly(propylene glycol). In addition, the density of silica spheres without a template was measured by two independent techniques: AFM and the Archimedes principle.

Surface movement in water of splendipherin, the aquatic male sex pheromone of the tree frog Litoria splendida

The aquatic sex pheromone splendipherin (GLVSSIGKALGGLLADVVKSKGQPA-OH) of the male green tree frog Litoria splendida moves across the surface of water to reach the female. Surface pressure and X-ray reflectometry measurements confirm that splendipherin is a surface-active molecule, and are consistent with it having an ordered structure, whereby the hydrophilic portion of the peptide interacts with the underlying water and the hydrophobic region is adjacent to the vapour phase. The movement of splendipherin over the surface of water is caused by a surface pressure gradient. In order to better define the structure of splendipherin at the water/air interface we used 2D NMR studies of the pheromone with the solvent system trifluoroethanol/water (1 : 1 v/v). In this solvent system, splendipherin adopts a bent alpha helix from residues V3 to K21. The bending of the helix occurs in the centre of the peptide in the vicinity of G11 and G12. The region of splendipherin from V3 to G11 has well-defined amphipathicity, whereas the amphipathicity from G12 to A25 is reduced by K19 and P24 intruding into the hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions respectively. A helical structure is consistent with X-ray reflectometry data.

Superlubricity using repulsive van der Waals forces

Using colloid probe atomic force microscopy, we show that if repulsive van der Waals forces exist between two surfaces prior to their contact then friction is essentially precluded and supersliding is achieved. The friction measurements presented here are of the same order as the lowest ever recorded friction coefficients in liquid, though they are achieved by a completely different approach. A gold sphere attached to an AFM cantilever is forced to interact with a smooth Teflon surface (templated on mica). In cyclohexane, a repulsive van der Waals force is observed that diverges at short separations. The friction coefficient associated with this system is on the order of 0.0003. When the refractive index of the liquid is changed, the force can be tuned from repulsive to attractive and adhesive. The friction coefficient increases as the Hamaker constant becomes more positive and the divergent repulsive force, which prevents solid-solid contact, gets switched off.

Forces and friction between hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces: Influence of oleate species

The atomic force microscope has been used to investigate normal surface forces and lateral friction forces at different concentrations of sodium oleate, a frequently used fatty acid in the deinking process. The measurements have been performed using the colloidal probe technique with bead materials consisting of cellulose and silica. Cellulose was used together with a printing ink alkyd resin and mica, whereas silica was used with a hydrophobized silica wafer. The cellulose-alkyd resin system showed stronger double layer repulsion and the friction was reduced with increasing surfactant concentration. The adhesive interaction disappeared immediately on addition of sodium oleate. The normal surface forces for cellulose-mica indicated no apparent adsorption of the sodium oleate however, the friction coefficient increased on addition of sodium oleate, which we ascribe to some limited adsorption increasing the effective surface roughness. The silica-hydrophobic silica system showed a completely different surface force behavior at the different concentrations. An attractive hydrophobic interaction was evident since the surfaces jumped into adhesive contact at a longer distance than the van der Waals forces would predict. The strong adhesion was reflected in the friction forces as a nonlinear relationship between load and friction and a large friction response at zero applied load. Indirect evidence of adsorption to the hydrophilic silica surface was also observed in this case, and QCM studies were performed to confirm the adsorption of material to both surfaces.

Comparison of different methods to calibrate torsional spring constant and photodetector for atomic force microscopy friction measurements in air and liquid

A number of atomic force microscopy cantilevers have been exhaustively calibrated by a number of techniques to obtain both normal and frictional force constants to evaluate the relative accuracy of the different methods. These were of either direct or indirect character-the latter relies on cantilever resonant frequencies. The so-called Sader [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 70, 3967 (1999)] and Cleveland [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 64, 403 (1993)] techniques are compared for the normal force constant calibration and while agreement was good, a systematic difference was observed. For the torsional force constants, all the techniques displayed a certain scatter but the agreement was highly encouraging. By far the simplest technique is that of Sader, and it is suggested in view of this validation that this method should be generally adopted. The issue of the photodetector calibration is also addressed since this is necessary to obtain the cantilever twist from which the torsional force is calculated. Here a technique of obtaining the torsional photodetector sensitivity by combining the direct and indirect methods is proposed. Direct calibration measurements were conducted in liquid as well as air, and a conversion factor was obtained showing that quantitative friction measurements in liquid are equally feasible provided the correct calibration is performed.

Self-assembling supramolecular complexes by single-stranded extension from plasmid DNA

Self-assembling supramolecular complexes are of great interest for bottom-up research like nanotechnology. DNA is an inexpensive building block with sequence-specific self-assembling capabilities through Watson-Crick and/or Hoogsteen base pairing and could be used for applications in surface chemistry, material science, nanomechanics, nanoelectronics, nanorobotics, and of course in biology. The starting point is usually single-stranded DNA, which is rather easily accessible for base pairing and duplex formation. When long stretches of double-stranded DNA are desirable, serving either as genetic codes or electrical wires, bacterial expansion of plasmids is an inexpensive approach with scale-up properties. Here, we present a method for using double-stranded DNA of any sequence for generating simple structures, such as junctions and DNA lattices. It is known that supercoiled plasmids are strand-invaded by certain DNA analogs. Here we add to the complexity by using "Self-assembling UNiversal (SUN) anchors" formed by DNA analog oligonucleotides, synthesized with an extension, a "sticky-end" that can be used for further base pairing with single-stranded DNA. We show here how the same set of SUN anchors can be utilized for gene therapy, plasmid purification, junction for lattices, and plasmid dimerization through Watson-Crick base pairing. Using atomic force microscopy, it has been possible to characterize and quantify individual components of such supra-molecular complexes.