Dramatic Shape Modulation of Surfactant/Diacetylene Microstructures at the Air–Water Interface

Langmuir monolayers constitute a powerful platform for self‐assembly and organization of amhiphilic molecules. Controlling the structural features of condensed domains formed within Langmuir monolayers, however, is a challenging task. The formation of remarkably diverse condensed microstructures is demonstrated in binary monolayers comprising of a surfactant (octadecylmelamine) and a diacetylene monomer. The mole ratio between the two constituents and composition of the aqueous subphases (specifically pH and which dissolved metal ions are present) dramatically modulated the shapes and dimensions of microstructures formed at the air–water interface. The self‐assembled microstructures could be transferred from the water surface onto solid substrates, and subsequently further served as templates for gold coating, yielding electrically conductive microwires.     

Langmuir膜及LB膜中的金属参与

本文主要介绍了金属离子与Langmuir膜及LB膜相互作用中静电、配位等作用方式及其对膜相态和分子二维排列的影响。在此基础上探讨了Langmuir膜对金属离子的识别与传感。以Langmuir膜和LB膜为二维模板诱导无机盐定向生长作为金属/单分子膜结合的重要应用在文中也进行了讨论。通过举例展示了金属离子参与的Langmuir膜和LB膜催化有机反应的特点。最后对金属参与的Langmuir膜和LB膜在功能化和器件化等方面的研究也作了论述, 并通过介绍金属螯合类脂分子的Langmuir膜在蛋白质等生物大分子界面定向聚集研究中的应用表明了金属参与的Langmuir膜及LB 膜在生命科学研究中的意义。全文贯穿了金属结合调节Langmuir膜和LB膜组装结构以及通过金属结合导入功能基团进行有序组装的思想。     

The production and verification of pristine semi-fluorinated thiol monolayers on gold

In this work the interaction between human serum albumin (HSA) and a monofluorinated phospholipid, 1-palmitoyl-2-[16-fluoropalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine] (F-DPPC), was studied by using Langmuir monolayer and Brewster angle microscopy (BAM) techniques. Different amounts of F-DPPC were spread on a previously formed HSA monolayer located at the air/water interface at 25 °C and the mixed monolayers thus obtained showed the existence of a liquid expanded-liquid condensed (LE-LC) phase transition (at 14 mN/m), attributed to the pure F-DPPC monolayer, coexisting with a second transition (at 22-24 mN/m) corresponding to the protein conformational change from an unfolded state to another in “loops” configuration. Relative thickness measurements recorded during the compression of the mixed monolayers showed the existence of an “exclusion” surface pressure (π_exc), above which the protein is squeezed out the interface, but not totally. BAM images reveal that some protein molecules in a packed “loops” configuration remain at the interface at surface pressures higher than the “exclusion” surface pressure. The application of the Defay-Crisp phase rule to the phase diagram of the F-DPPC/HSA system can explain the existence of certain regions of surface pressure in which the mixed monolayer components are miscible, as well as those others that they are immiscible.     

Theoretical modeling of photo-induced wave propagation in liquid-crystalline Langmuir monolayers

A phenomenological model of wave propagation in photo-excited liquid-crystalline Langmuir monolayers is constructed. The spontaneous splay deformation of the liquid-crystalline order and the anisotropy of photo-excitation of molecules are taken into account in this model. Numerical simulations of the model well reproduce qualitative features of the wave propagation phenomenon observed in recent experiments. A linear stability analysis of the model equations reveals that an interplay between the spontaneous splay deformation and the anisotropy of the photo-excitation can lead to the wave propagation.     

Molecular dynamics simulations on the adsorption of 4-n-octyl-4′-cyanobiphenyl (8CB) at the air/water interface

The influence of surface coverage to the structural properties of 4-n-octyl-4´-cyanobiphenyl (8CB) monolayer at the air/water interface was studied by full atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. These properties include density profiles, interface thickness, monolayer width, orientational order parameters, and atom-pair radial distribution functions. The calculated tilt angles of the cyanobiphenyl and alkyl parts are in fairly good agreement with the experiments. The simulation results exhibit the general trends in the previous experimental and simulation data.     

Edelfosine—A new antineoplastic drug based on a phospholipid-like structure: The Langmuir monolayer study

Edelfosine (1-O-octadecyl-2-O-methyl-rac-glycero-3-phosphocholine, Et-18-OCH₃), an anticancer drug based on a phospholipid-like structure, was spread and investigated at the aqueous solution/air interface by means of surface pressure–area (π–A) and electric surface potential–area (ΔV–A) isotherms in addition to Brewster angle microscopy (BAM). The influence of such factors as subphase temperature, ionic strength, speed of compression and number of molecules spread at the surface on the characteristics of the π–A isotherms was studied. Edelfosine was found to form stable Langmuir monolayers which are nearly not influenced by the experimental conditions. The relative reflectivity measurements proved that the thickness of monolayer in the vicinity of collapse is 2.4 nm, which corresponds to length of a vertically oriented molecule. Perpendicular orientation of edelfosine molecules just before the film collapse has been confirmed with the apparent dipole moment value, which attains the maximum value in this region.     

Lung surfactant dysfunction in tuberculosis: effect of mycobacterial tubercular lipids on dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine surface activity

In pulmonary tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria reside in the alveoli and are in close proximity with the alveolar surfactant. Mycolic acid in its free form and as cord factor, constitute the major lipids of the mycobacterial cell wall. They can detach from the bacteria easily and are known to be moderately surface active. We hypothesize that these surface-active mycobacterial cell wall lipids could interact with the pulmonary surfactant and result in lung surfactant dysfunction. In this study, the major phospholipid of the lung surfactant, dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and binary mixtures of DPPC:phosphatidylglycerol (PG) in 9:1 and 7:3 ratios were modelled as lung surfactant monolayers and the inhibitory potential of mycolic acid and cord factor on the surface activity of DPPC and DPPC:PG mixtures was evaluated using Langmuir monolayers. The mycobacterial lipids caused common profile changes in all the isotherms: increase in minimum surface tension, compressibility and percentage area change required for change in surface tension from 30 to 10 mN/m. Higher minimum surface tension values were achieved in the presence of mycolic acid (18.2 ± 0.7 mN/m) and cord factor (13.28 ± 1.2 mN/m) as compared to 0 mN/m, achieved by pure DPPC film. Similarly higher values of compressibility (0.375 ± 0.005 m/mN for mycolic acid:DPPC and 0.197 ± 0.003 m/mN for cord factor:DPPC monolayers) were obtained in presence of mycolic acid and cord factor. Thus, mycolic acid and cord factor were said to be inhibitory towards lung surfactant phospholipids. Higher surface tension and compressibility values in presence of tubercular lipids are suggestive of an unstable and fluid surfactant film, which will fail to achieve low surface tensions and can contribute to alveolar collapse in patients suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis. In conclusion a biophysical inhibition of lung surfactant may play a role in the pathogenesis of tuberculosis and may serve as a target for the development of new drug loaded surfactants for this condition.     

Study of the interaction and activation of lipase from Pseudomonas fluorescens in surfactant monolayers and precipitates

The activation of lipase from Pseudomonas fluorescens (PFL) upon its immobilization in surfactant coprecipitates (hexadecane-1,2-diol (HDD), cetyl alcohol (CetOH), N-cetylacetamide (CetAA), and cetylamine (CetNH₂)) organized in monolayers at the interface were studied by the Langmuir—Blodgett monolayer technique. Incorporation of the enzyme into surfactant monolayers at the surface pressure = 10 mN m^–1 results in an apparent increase in the area per molecule. In the series of noncharged surfactants CetOH—HDD—CetAA, this effect increases in proportion to the amount of the enzyme incorporated in the monolayer. The catalytic activity of the lipase—surfactant coprecipitates in an organic solvent as regards esterification increases in the same sequence, indicating similarity of the interaction of lipase with surfactant monolayers and coprecipitates. For = 10 mN m^–1, the CetNH₂ monolayer with liquid-expanded state incorporates the largest amount of the enzyme (PFL : CetNH₂ = 1 : 290); the CetOH monolayer, which exists in the condensed state under the same conditions, incorporates the smallest amount (PFL : CetOH = 1 : 1700). The hydrolytic activity of PFL in mixed monolayers with surfactants increases 1.5—11-fold; the esterification activity in surfactant coprecipitates, 1.6—9-fold. The lipase activation effects are explained by facilitated transport of substrates into mixed monolayers and surfactant—enzyme precipitates in aqueous and organic media, respectively.     

Critical influence of the alkane length in surface and liquid-crystalline properties of perfluorodecyl-n-alkanes

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements together with texture observation with polarizing microscope revealed the presence of a smectic phase for shorter homologues. Film forming properties of all the perfluorodecyl-n-alkanes synthesized here at the air-water interface were thoroughly investigated. Nearly all the compounds investigated were found to be capable of Langmuir monolayer formation when spread at the water-air interface, apart from semifluorinated alkanes (SFA) containing short hydrogenated moiety (n < 10), which partially dissolve in the water subphase. The investigated homologous series of SFA can be divided into four groups, regarding their liquid-crystalline and surface properties. The first group includes molecules with n = 6-10, which form smectic phases in the bulk and do not form stable monolayers at the free water surface. SFA containing 11 or 12 hydrogenated carbons belong to the second group, forming smectic phases at elevated temperatures, which transform into 3D ordering upon cooling. These molecules are found to form Langmuir monolayers of intermediate stability. The remaining groups contain perfluorodecylalkanes with n > 12, which differ in their calorimetric properties; however, both form very stable films on the water surface and do not exhibit liquid-crystalline properties.     

Adsorption of detergent-solubilized and phospholipase C-solubilized alkaline phosphatase at air/liquid interfaces

To investigate the influence of a hydrophobic anchor on protein adsorption, equilibrium and dynamic aspects of the adsorption of two different solubilized forms of rat osseous plate alkaline phosphatase on Langmuir monolayers of dimyristoylphosphatidic acid (DMPA) were studied. Surface pressure and surface potential measurements at air/liquid interfaces were carried out using the detergent-solubilized form (DSAP) of alkaline phosphatase, which holds a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) hydrophobic anchor, and the glycosylphosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C-solubilized form (PLSAP), lacking the GPI anchor. Similar surface transitions observed for both DMPA and DMPA/PLSAP mixed monolayers indicate that the presence of PLSAP does not promote significant changes in surface packing of the DMPA monolayer. However, PLSAP interacts with the polar portion of the phospholipid even at high lateral compression. The presence of the GPI anchor increases the adsorption of DSAP at a plain air/liquid interface and also enables the penetration of the protein into the DMPA monolayers. The penetration is dependent on both time and surface pressure. Up to 20 mN/m, the surface pressure increases smoothly indicating a diffusion followed by an adsorption process. Above 20 mN/m, after a fast increase, the surface pressure slowly decays to equilibrium values quite close to the initial surface pressures. The results indicate that the molecular packing of the lipid layer drives the enzyme adsorption to the interface either through the GPI anchor or by the polypeptide moiety.     

On the application of quantitative models of diffusion-controlled adsorption kinetics at fluid interfaces

The model of diffusion-controlled adsorption kinetics can be solved by different mathematical procedures. For the most important case of a Langmuir isotherm, useful solutions are summarized and extended and the ranges of application are given. New approximations are presented which can be applied to most experiments in practice.Nomenclature a _i coefficients of the collocation solution - a _L Langmuir parameter - a interaction parameter of the Frumkin isotherm - _n coefficients of a power series - c surfactant bulk concentration - c ₀ equilibrium bulk concentration - D diffusion coefficient - surface concentration - ₀ equilibrium surface concentration - _t8 maximum surface concentration - ( _x ) Gamma function - t time - dimensionless time Dedicated to the 60th birthday of G. Kretzschmar.     

Evaluation of antitubercular drug insertion into preformed dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine monolayers

Insertion profiles of antitubercular drugs isoniazid (INH), rifampicin (RFM) and ethambutol (ETH) into dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) membrane models were evaluated by Langmuir monolayer technique. Maximum drug insertion into DPPC monolayer was observed with rifampicin with a surface pressure increase (Δπ_max) in the range of 21–33 mN/m depending upon rifampicin concentration. Isoniazid had minimal insertion resulting in a lower Δπ_max of about 2–3 mN/m, suggestive of minimal interactions between INH and DPPC. Ethambutol surface pressure increment on insertion resulted in an intermediate rise in the Δπ_max (6–10 mN/m). Antitubercular drug combination in the ratio of 2 mM:0.7 mM:4.5 mM for INH:RFM:ETH, attained Δπ_max between 25 and 33 mN/m. Insertion profiles similar to rifampicin were exhibited by the antitubercular drug mixture suggestive of predominant rifampicin insertion into the DPPC monolayer. The extent of drug insertion into the DPPC monolayer is suggestive of the drug penetration potential into biological membranes in vivo. Higher RFM Δπ_max is suggestive of excellent cell membrane penetration, which explains broad reach of the drug to all the organs including the cerebrospinal fluid while lower Δπ_max of INH suggests poor membrane penetration restricting the entry of the drug in different biological membranes. DPPC membrane destabilization was observed at higher antitubercular drug concentrations indicated by the negative slopes of the surface pressure–time curves. This may correlate with the dose related toxic effects observed in tuberculosis affected patients. Drug insertion studies offer a potential tool in understanding the pharmacotoxicological behavior of the various pharmacological agents.     

离子色谱法同时测定卷烟主流烟气中氨和烟碱的含量

摘要：建立离子色谱仪同时测定卷烟主流烟气中氨和烟碱含量的方法。对样品前处理条件和色谱分离条件进行了优化,最终选择10 mmol/L盐酸作为气相捕集液和总粒相物的萃取液,在梯度淋洗条件下使用电导检测器进行测定,色谱柱为CS17阳离子分析柱,检测温度为40℃。方法学考察表明,氨和烟碱标准工作曲线线性相关系数分别为0.999 8和0.999 9,检出限分别为0.31 μg/支和22 μg/支。氨和烟碱测定结果的相对标准偏差分别为1.86%,2.23%(n=5),氨加标回收率在98.8%～104.9%之间,烟碱加标回收率在96.7%～103.1%之间。该方法能有效去除干扰,方法可操作性强,可同时测定卷烟主流烟气中多种成分。     

Study on the Langmuir aggregation of fluorinated surfactants on protein

The microphase adsorption-spectral correction (MPASC) technique was described and applied to the study of the interactions of fluorinated surfactants such as potassium perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and potassium perfluorobutanesulfonate (PFBS) with human serum albumin (HSA). Sodium octanesulfonate (SOS) was also studied as non-fluorinated surfactant. The aggregation of PFOS, PFBS and SOS obeys the Langmuir monolayer adsorption. The results show that the adsorption ratios of surfactants to HSA are PFOS:HSA = 120:1, PFBS:HSA = 205:1 and SOS:HSA = 18:1. The adsorption constants are K_PFOS-HSA = 5.01 × 10³, K_PFBS-HSA = 9.79 × 10² and K_SOS-HSA = 4.03 × 10³. The detection limits are 2.7 mg/L for BSA using PFOS, 3.1 mg/L using PFBS and 3.1 mg/L using SOS. It was found that fluorinated surfactant exhibited stronger interaction with protein than hydrogenated one, and fluorinated surfactant with long hydrophobic chain exhibited stronger interaction with protein than that with short hydrophobic chain.