Mucin-chitosan complexes at the solid-liquid interface: multilayer formation and stability in surfactant solutions.

The adsorption of a biologically important glycoprotein, mucin, and mucin-chitosan complex layer formation on negatively charged surfaces, silica and mica, have been investigated employing ellipsometry, the interferometric surface apparatus, and atomic force microscopy techniques. Particular attention has been paid to the effect of an anionic surfactant sodium, dodecyl sulfate (SDS), with respect to the stability of the adsorption layers. It has been shown that mucin adsorbs on negatively charged surfaces to form highly hydrated layers. Such mucin layers readily associate with surfactants and are easily removed from the surfaces by rinsing with solutions of SDS at concentrations > or =0.2 cmc (1 cmc SDS in 30 mM NaCl is equal to 3.3 mM). The mucin adsorption layer is negatively charged, and we show how a positively charged polyelectrolyte, chitosan, associates with the preadsorbed mucin to form mucin-chitosan complexes that resist desorption by SDS even at SDS concentrations as high as 1 cmc. Thus, a method of mucin layer protection against removal by surfactants is offered. Further, we show how mucin-chitosan multilayers can be formed.

Dendritic structures based on bis(hydroxymethyl)propionic acid as platforms for surface reactions.

In this paper we present results related to the self-assembly of different generations of disulfide-cored 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)propionic acid-based dendritic structures onto gold surfaces. These molecular architectures, ranging from generation 1 to generation 3, contain removable acetonide protecting groups at their periphery that are accessible for hydrolysis with subsequent formation of OH-terminated surface-attached dendrons. The deprotection has been investigated in detail as a versatile approach to accomplish reactive surface platforms. A special focus has been devoted to the comparison of the properties of the layers formed by hydrolysis of the acetonide moieties directly on the surface and in solution, prior to the layer formation.

Supramolecular microcontact printing and dip-pen nanolithography on molecular printboards.

The transfer of functional molecules onto self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) by means of soft and scanning-probe lithographic techniques-microcontact printing (muCP) and dip-pen nanolithography (DPN), respectively-and the stability of the molecular patterns during competitive rinsing conditions were examined. A series of guests with different valencies were transferred onto beta-cyclodextrin- (beta-CD-) terminated SAMs and onto reference hydroxy-terminated SAMs. Although physical contact was sufficient to generate patterns on both types of SAMs, only molecular patterns of multivalent guests transferred onto the beta-CD SAMs were stable under the rinsing conditions that caused the removal of the same guests from the reference SAMs. The formation of kinetically stable molecular patterns by supramolecular DPN with a lateral resolution of 60 nm exemplifies the use of beta-CD-terminated SAMs as molecular printboards for the selective immobilization of printboard-compatible guests on the nanometer scale through the use of specific, multivalent supramolecular interactions. Electroless deposition of copper on the printboard was shown to occur selectively on the areas patterned with dendrimer-stabilized gold nanoparticles.

Divalent binding of a bis(adamantyl)-functionalized calix[4]arene to beta-cyclodextrin-based hosts: an experimental and theoretical study on multivalent binding in solution and at self-assembled monolayers.

The divalent binding of a bis(adamantyl)-functionalized calix[4]arene (1) to an EDTA-tethered beta-cyclodextrin (CD) dimer (2) in solution (1.2 x 10(7) M(-)(1)) was 3 orders of magnitude weaker than the binding constant ( approximately 10(10) M(-)(1)) for the interaction of 1 at CD self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold. This difference in binding is rationalized using a theoretical model, which interprets the divalent binding as two consecutive monovalent binding events, i.e., an intermolecular interaction followed by an intramolecular binding event, the latter of which is associated with an effective concentration term accounting for the close proximity of the two interacting species. The methodology presented in the model is applicable to divalent binding both in solution and at SAMs and indicates that the difference in observed binding constants mainly stems from a difference in effective concentration.

A model for describing the thermodynamics of multivalent host-guest interactions at interfaces.

A model has been described for interpreting the binding of multivalent molecules to interface-immobilized monovalent receptors through multiple, independent interactions. It is based on the concept of effective concentration, C(eff), which has been developed before for multivalent binding in solution and which incorporates effects of lengths and flexibilities of linkers between interacting sites. The model assumes: (i). the interactions are independent, (ii). the maximum number of interactions, p(max), is known, (iii). C(eff) is estimated from (simple) molecular models. Simulations of the thermodynamics and kinetics of multivalent host-guest binding to interfaces have been discussed, and competition with a monovalent competitor in solution has been incorporated as well. The model was successfully used to describe the binding of a divalent guest to self-assembled monolayers of a cyclodextrin host. The adsorption data of more complex guest-functionalized dendrimers, for which p(max) was not known beforehand, was interpreted as well. Finally, it has been shown that the model can aid to deconvolute contributions of multivalency and cooperativity to stability enhancements observed for the adsorption of multivalent molecules to interfaces.

Beta-cyclodextrin host-guest complexes probed under thermodynamic equilibrium: thermodynamics and AFM force spectroscopy.

The rupture forces of individual host-guest complexes between beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) heptathioether monolayers on Au(111) and several surface-confined guests were measured in aqueous medium by single molecule force spectroscopy using an atomic force microscope. Anilyl, toluidyl, tert-butylphenyl, and adamantylthiols (0.2-1%) were immobilized in mixed monolayers with 2-mercaptoethanol on gold-coated AFM tips. For all guests and for all surface coverages, the force-displacement curves measured between the functionalized tips and monolayers of beta-CD exhibited single, as well as multiple, pull-off events. The histograms of the pull-off forces showed several maxima at equidistant forces, with force quanta characteristic for each guest of 39 +/- 15, 45 +/- 15, 89 +/- 15, and 102 +/- 15 pN, respectively. These force quanta were independent of the loading rate, indicating that, because of the fast complexation/decomplexation kinetics, the rupture forces were probed under thermodynamic equilibrium. The force values followed the same trend as the free binding energy Delta G degrees measured for model guest compounds in solution or on beta-CD monolayers, as determined by microcalorimetry and surface plasmon resonance measurements, respectively. A descriptive model was developed to correlate quantitatively the pull-off force values with the Delta G degrees of the complexes, based on the evaluation of the energy potential landscape of tip-surface interaction.

Directed, selective insertion of single molecules into patterned self-assembled monolayers of alkanethiols with different chain lengths.

Pd(ii) pincer adsorbate molecules (1) were inserted into self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of alkanethiols with different chain lengths (C(8) to C(18)) on annealed gold substrates. Their presence was brought to expression by reaction of with Au nanoclusters bearing phosphine moieties (2). The surface-confined Au nanoclusters were observed only on the shorter chain SAMs (C(8)SH to C(16)SH) and not on C(18)SH SAMs. This is attributed to the longer chain length of C(18)SH preventing the insertion of pincer molecules. Microcontact printing (microCP) with C(18)SH on unannealed gold substrates and the subsequent immersion of the substrates into C(8)SH, C(10)SH, C(12)SH, or C(16)SH solutions, yielded a series of patterned SAMs that have areas of thiols of different chain lengths. Insertion of 1 followed by expression using 2, or insertion of 3 showed inserted molecules only in the shorter chain SAM areas. The absolute particle densities in the former case were higher than on the corresponding homogeneous SAMs on annealed substrates, probably due to larger numbers of defects in the SAMs on unannealed substrates.