Electromechanical properties of an ultrathin layer of directionally aligned helical polypeptides.

The electromechanical properties of a monomolecular film of poly-gamma-benzyl-L-glutamate (PBLG) 15 nanometers thick grafted at the carboxyl-terminal end to a flat aluminum surface were measured. The field-induced change in film thickness, dominated by a large inverse-piezoelectric effect, demonstrates that the "grafting-from" technique forces the chains into a parallel arrangement. The mechanical plate modulus of the film as determined by electrostriction agrees with the theoretical prediction for a single PBLG molecule along the chain axis. The experiments show that ultrathin polypeptide layers with large persistent polarization can be fabricated by the grafting approach.

Studies of Structure and Local Wetting Properties on Heterogeneous, Micropatterned Solid Surfaces by Microinterferometry.

The microstructure and the local wettability of functionalized patterns is reported. The patterns are formed by the photolithographic structuring of multilayers of hairy rod polymers on glass/MgF2/SiO2 substrates. By application of quantitative reflection interference contrast microscopy (RICM), the RICM image analysis was improved by accounting for (i) multiple reflections and the finite illumination aperture in stratified systems and (ii) geometrical effects in wedge-shaped systems and by (iii) optimizing the contrast enhancement through adjustment of the MgF2 coating. The surface free energy of hairy rod films were determined by analysing the contact angle of partially wetting liquid droplets as a function of the surface tension of the liquid. Periodic lattices of hydrophobic domains separated by hydrophilic domains were applied to check the theory of Joanny and de Gennes [J. Phys. Chem. 81, 552-562 (1984)] of contact angle hysteresis at periodic arrays of pinning centers. Measurements of the shape of the triple line and the contact angle hysteresis by RICM confirmed the theoretical predictions. Copyright 1997 Academic Press.

A histologic analysis of plantar fibromatosis.

Space occupying lesions of the plantar aspect can be a most preplexing surgical problem. Investigation into the histopathology of one of these lesions is presented. An in-depth cellular analysis of primary structures related to abnormal findings is also presented.