pH induced interaction of DPPC with a fluorescent dye in Langmuir and Langmuir Blodgett (LB) films

This communication reports the investigation of the pH effects on the interaction of a well-known lung surfactant, Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) with water soluble highly fluorescent dye Rhodamine B (RhB) in complex Langmuir monolayers at the air–water interface. The ionic nature of DPPC changes with the pH of the subphase in the Langmuir trough. At sufficiently low pH it becomes cationic whereas at higher pH it can be presented with a negative net charge and at normal pH it is zwitterionic. Being zwitterionic, RhB molecules can interact with DPPC at normal and higher pH, whereas at lower pH the interaction becomes less probable. This has been investigated in details at the air–water interface in Langmuir trough as well as in Langmuir Blodgett (LB) film by employing surface pressure versus area per molecule (π–A) isotherms, compressibility study, in-situ Fluorescence Imaging Microscopy (FIM), UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) study.