Proteins at liquid interfaces: II. Adsorption isotherms

Adsorption isotherms for the three proteins β-casein, bovine serum albumin, and lysozyme at the air-water and oil-water interfaces have been determined independently using ellipsometry and surface radioactivity methods; the surface pressure and surface potential were also monitored. Saturated monolayer coverage occurs via irreversible adsorption of 2–3 mg M^?2 of protein; the resultant films generate surface pressures of about 20 mN m^?1 and are 50–60 Å thick. Molecules adsorbed in the first layer dominate the film pressures so that further adsorption causes no change in the pressure although the film thickness can increase to more than 100 Å. The molecules which give rise to this increase in film thickness are reversibly adsorbed with respect to aqueous substrate exchange. The experimental isotherm data and the Langmuir adsorption isotherm are in close agreement at low protein concentrations. However, comparison with the Gibbs adsorption equation is not valid, although reasonable agreement can be achieved if some account is taken of the fact that the protein molecules in the first layer are irreversibly adsorbed.     

Study on the chemisorption kinetics of Methylene Blue using SERS technique

SERS technique was used to study the chemisorption kinetics of Methylene Blue (MB) on the HNO3-etched silver surface. The adsorption kinetic parameters were deduced from different vibrational modes at a low concentration of 3.5×10-6 mol/L, and it showed that MB adsorbed uniformly (monolayerly) on silver surface. However, the adsorptive behavior turned anomalous at relatively higher concentrations and a possible explanation was suggested. In addition, the influence of Cl- ions on the adsorption states of MB was investigated, and it was shown that MB molecules, adsorbed on the silver surface, tended to transform from the "lying-down" state to the "end- on"4 state after Cl- ions were added.     

Irreversible adsorption of triple-helical soluble collagen monomers from solution to glass and other surfaces

The adsorption from various solutions of triple-helical soluble collagen monomers to solid surfaces was studied by labeling the collagen with ¹²⁵1. Adsorption to glass, siliconized glass, and Teflon, from aqueous solutions at various pH and ionic strength, was determined at collagen concentrations from 2 to 25 μg/ml. Adsorption was shown to be irreversible and little dependent on pH and ionic strength but increasing enormously as the surface is made more hydrophobic. Surface denaturation of the collagen by heat results in a substantial loss of material. The kinetics of adsorption suggest that the adsorption process may be selective and that not all collagen molecules which reach the surface are immediately adsorbed. Checking these results with earlier measurements of adsorbed layer thickness, a model for collagen adsorption is proposed.     

Study on the first-step adsorption of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide solutions on silica wafer surfaces by ultramicroelectrode voltammetry

Ultramicroelectrode (UME) voltammetry is introduced to study the first-step adsorption of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) solutions on silica wafer surfaces. This method is based on the exchange reaction of the surfactant molecules with hydrogen ions (H⁺) on the surfaces. In the first-step adsorption process, when a surfactant molecule is adsorbed to the hydroxylated silica surfaces, a H⁺ will be displaced. Therefore, H⁺ concentration will change with the adsorption process until it reaches saturation of the first-step adsorption. The molar adsorption amount of DTAB (mol m⁻²) before critical micelle concentration (CMC) can be calculated from the change in H⁺ concentration. The following adsorption process at higher surfactant concentrations is dominated by hydrophobic forces. Consequently, the H⁺ concentrations do not change with the adsorption process any more, which makes the measurement uninfluenced by the following hydrophobic adsorption process. The adsorption isotherms of DTAB on silica wafer surfaces under different pH are measured with this method. It is found that all the adsorption isotherms exhibit asymptote (L) shape and the equilibrium molar adsorption amounts increase with increasing the pH of the solution. These results indicate that H⁺ not only change the surface charge but also compete with surfactant for adsorption at higher proton concentrations.     

Self-Association of Potassium Nonanoate Molecules in Aqueous Aerosil Dispersions: 13C NMR Data

The association of potassium nonanoate molecules in aqueous Aerosil dispersions at high and low surface charges of its particles are studied by the ¹³C NMR technique at frequencies of 75 and 125 MHz with the rotation of a sample at a magic angle. It is shown that, using the chemical shifts and spin–lattice relaxation times of ¹³C nuclei of single segments of the hydrophobic chain of a surfactant molecule, one can determine whether the segments are located in the adsorption layer on a solid surface or in the associates formed in the bulk solution. The values of the chemical shift and spin–lattice relaxation time depend, above all, on the value of the surface charge. The NMR parameters of two carbon atoms in the hydrophobic chain nearest to the polar group of the surfactant molecule appeared to be the most sensitive to the value of the adsorbent surface charge. It is discovered that, upon adsorption of potassium nonanoate from solutions with concentrations of 1.5–3 wt % and pH 6, the surfactant molecules are located in the adsorption layer parallel to the surface. At a higher surface charge, adsorption in the same concentration range occurs mainly on the hydroxyl groups; in this case, adsorbed molecules are arranged mostly along the normal to the surface. At surfactant concentrations much higher than the CMC (10–20%), the values of the chemical shift and relaxation time become closer to those measured in surfactant solutions in the absence of Aerosil.     

Single ion activity coefficients in concentrated aqueous hydrogen chloride solutions

The adsorption behaviour of the steroids: ouabagenin, ouabain, proscillaridin, digoxin, and k-strophanthine was studied by a.c. polarography and capacitance—time curves at the dropping mercury electrode. The steroids behave like strongly surface-active substances: the relative capacitance decrease ΔC/C₀ depends linearly both on the concentration of the solution and on the root of the drop age. The surface area determined for ouabagenin to be 125 Ų on the basis of adsorption kinetics corresponds roughly to the maximum crosssection of the molecule. With glycosides, the surface area increases with the number of monosaccharide molecules being attached in position 3 of the steroid. It was inferred, therefore, that the adsorbed molecule rests with its steroid and sugar moiety flat on the electrode. A capacitance minimum with sharply defined edges (pit) occurs in the a.c. polarograms of ouabain. In this potential area, the dependences Δ/₀=f(c) and ΔC/C₀=f(t) show a step-like course with two plateaus, which is discussed to be due to association of the adsorbed molecules.     

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering interaction of p-aminobenzoic acid on a silver-coated alumina substrate

The adsorption behavior of p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) molecules on a silver-coated alumina surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate was investigated. For spotted PABA and PABA in non-polar solvents, the PABA molecule is adsorbed flat on the surface of the SERS substrate. In this orientation, the benzene ring is π-bonded to the substrate, and the molecule is further anchored to the substrate by the binding of the lone pairs of NH₂ and COO⁻ groups onto the metal surface. On the other hand, the adsorption behavior of PABA in a polar solvent is greatly influenced by the hydrogen bonding of the amine group with the polar solvent. In this orientation, the molecule is preferentially adsorbed through the COO^± and assumes a non-flat orientation on the metal surface.     

Thermodynamics and kinetics of NAD+ adsorption on a glassy carbon electrode

Thermodynamics and kinetics of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺) adsorption on a glassy carbon (GC) electrode surface was investigated at various electrode potentials and NAD⁺ concentrations using differential capacitance (DC) and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) techniques. Equilibrium adsorption measurements confirmed that NAD⁺ spontaneously and strongly adsorbs on the GC electrode surface. The affinity of NAD⁺ towards adsorption on the GC electrode surface was found to increase with an increase in electrode potential (charge) to more positive values; the corresponding apparent Gibbs free energy of adsorption was ?32.80?±?0.25, ?35.61?±?0.86, and ?38.02?±?0.40 kJ mol^?1 on negatively, neutral, and positively charged electrode surfaces, respectively. The kinetics of NAD⁺ adsorption is also found to be highly dependent on the electrode surface potential (charge), and it increases with an increase in electrode potential (charge) to positive values. The adsorption process was modeled using a two-step kinetic model, in which the adsorption process involves the formation of two forms of NAD⁺ on the surface: the thermodynamically unstable (NAD⁺ _ads,rev) and stable (NAD⁺ _ads,stable) forms. ATR-FTIR further confirmed that NAD⁺, indeed, adsorbed on the GC electrode surface.     

EPR study of the mechanism of interaction of NO and NO2 molecules with zeolite surfaces

The adsorption of the paramagnetic molecules of NO and NO₂ by zeolites in the alkali and alkaline earth cationic forms has been studied by EPR and reflectance spectroscopic methods. The change in the EPR spectra of adsorbed nitric oxide with increase in the degree of covering of the surface of the alkali cationic form of the zeolites, and also the nature of the change in the spectra when oxygen is adsorbed on zeolites on which NO has previously been adsorbed, indicate the existence of two types of adsorption center. At low degrees of covering of the surface, on the order of 10¹⁸ g^–1, as can be judged from the EPR spectra, the adsorbed NO molecule is strongly polarized and the unpaired electron is almost completely localized on the oxygen atom. At high degrees of covering, for an appreciable proportion of the NO molecules, the bond with the surface is weaker. In this case, the EPR spectra show a hyperfine structure (HFS) with a constant which changes with change in the cation in the order Li⁺ Na⁺ K⁺. The replacement of the singly charged Na⁺ by the doubly charged Ca²⁺ produces a marked change in the adsorption properties of the zeolite. The adsorption of NO on CaA leads not only to polarization of the adsorbed molecule but also to transfer of the electron from the nitrogen atom to the atoms of the adsorbent; this is recorded in the EPR spectrum in the form of an F-center. On further adsorption, the NO molecules are adsorbed both on the nitrogen atom and on the oxygen atom of the first molecule; thus, NO₂ and N₂O are formed.     

Adsorption behaviour and surfactant elution of cationic salivary proteins at solid/liquid interfaces,studied by in situ ellipsometry

Adsorption of the cationic salivary proteins lactoferrin, lactoperoxidase, lysozyme and histatin 5 to pure (hydrophilic) and methylated (hydrophobized) silica surfaces was investigated by in situ ellipsometry. Effects of concentration (≤10 μg ml⁻¹, for lysozyme ≤200 μg ml⁻¹) and dependence of surface wettability, as well as adsorption kinetics and elutability of adsorbed films by buffer and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) solutions were investigated. Results showed that the amounts adsorbed decreased in the order lactoferrin ≥ lactoperoxidase > lysozyme ≥ histatin 5. On hydrophilic silica, the adsorption was most likely driven by electrostatic interactions, which resulted in adsorbed amounts of lactoferrin that indicated the formation of a monolayer with both side-on and end-on adsorbed molecules. For lactoperoxidase the adsorbed amounts were somewhat higher than an end-on monolayer, lysozyme adsorption showed amounts corresponding to a side-on monolayer, and histatin 5 displayed adsorbed amounts in the range of a side-on monolayer. On hydrophobized substrata, the adsorption was also mediated by hydrophobic interactions, which resulted in lower adsorbed amounts of lactoferrin and lactoperoxidase; closer to side-on monolayer coverage. For both lysozyme and histatin 5 the adsorbed amounts were the same as on the hydrophilic silica. The investigated proteins exhibited fast adsorption kinetics, and the initial kinetics indicated mass transport controlled behaviour at low concentrations on both types of substrates. Buffer rinsing and SDS elution indicated that the proteins in general were more tightly bound to the hydrophobized surface compared to hydrophilic silica. Overall, the surface activity of the investigated proteins implicates their importance in the salivary film formation.     

The electrocapillarity of polyacrylates

Summary The electrocapillary properties of polyacrylic acid have been studied by two methods. Exploratory measurements have been made of the effect of the polymer on the differential capacity of a mercury drop in 0.1 m sodium perchlorate. They showed that the polymer was strongly adsorbed over a wide range of potentials but that it did not appear to form a monolayer. The surface excess of polymer obtained from drop weight data showed a maximum at very low concentrations and then a decline at higher concentrations. The bulk of the work was carried out by making surface tension measurements, using a sessile mercury drop, in solutions of a fraction of polyacrylic acid (mol. wt. 7.02×10⁴) in potassium chloride at 0.01, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.5 m at 25°C.The data have been used to evaluate the surface excesses of the polymer and of the inorganic ions. The distribution of K⁺ and Cl^– in the electrical double layer and the contact adsorption of Cl^– on the mercury were very little affected by the presence of the polymer. The surface excess of polymer was always found to be greatest at low concentrations, to decrease steeply at first as the concentration was increased and then to decrease more slowly at higher concentrations.Possible explanations of this behaviour are discussed and it is concluded that the rapid decrease is a consequence of molecular weight dispersion and the stronger adsorption of high molecular weight polymer. The slow decrease in surface excess at higher concentrations may be a result of configurational changes of the polymer molecules.Surface pressure data show that, despite this decrease in the surface excess, the surface coverage reaches a high level at very low polymer concentrations and then continues to increase slowly as the concentration of polymer is increased. This apparent contradiction is due to changes in configuration of the adsorbed polymer molecules. At higher bulk concentrations the chain configurations are more compact and each adsorbed molecule makes more contacts with and so occupies a greater area of the mercury surface than at low concentrations.The conclusion is reached that the surface excess of polymer is mostly contained in a layer probably more than 1000 Å thick. It consists of a concentrated and entangled mass of polymer chains. Relatively few of these chains are in contact with the mercury at any istant. The concentration in this surface layer decreases steadily with increasing distance from the mercury surface and it merges without discontinuity into the bulk solution.With 10 figures in 22 details     

Protein spreading kinetics at liquid-solid interfaces via an adsorption probe method

We report the areal growth kinetics of fibrinogen adsorbed on model hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces measured via an adsorption probe method. This approach exploits the adsorption of probe molecules to determine the evolution of fibrinogen test molecules under conditions where the fibrinogen test molecules adsorb at relatively dilute surface conditions, minimizing interactions between them. It is found that fibrinogen test molecules spread from an average initial footprint of 100 nm2 to a final footprint near 500 nm2 per molecule on the hydrophobic surface, with a single-exponential decay of 1735 s. On a hydrophilic monolayer, the area increases from 100 to 160 nm2 with a characteristic time of 6740 s. These results demonstrate the power of the adsorption probe approach and comprise the first measurements of the averaged area relaxations of adsorbed proteins. The observation of single-exponential dynamics is remarkable, given the extensive relaxation on the hydrophobic surface, which must involve fibrinogen denaturing.     

Studies of adsorption of 2,2′-bipyridyl on the surface of highly regulated silica matrix of the MCM-41 type by means of <Superscript>15</Superscript>N NMR spectroscopy

The study of 2,2′-bipyridyl adsorption on the surface of highly regular MCM-41 silica at 300 and 130 K was carried out by the ¹⁵N NMR spectroscopy. It was shown that at 300 K the adsorbed molecules were involved in the processes of isotropic reorientation accompanied by the formation and rupture of hydrogen bonds with the surface-located hydroxy groups. Each molecule of 2,2′-bipyridyl forms no more than one hydrogen bond at a time, and their surface density is about one molecule per 1 nm² of the surface. At 130 K 2,2′-bipyridyl forms a monolayer on the surface of silica including about 1.6 molecule per 1 nm². In this monolayer each molecule forms a hydrogen bond with one hydroxy group and prevents the interaction of the other bipyridyl molecules with one more hydroxy group.     

Effect of hyamine on electrochemical behaviour of brass alloy in HNO3 solution

The electrochemical behaviours of a brass alloy in 0.1 M nitric acid, including the hyamine inhibitor with concentrations between 2.5 × 10^?4 M and 1.0 × 10^?5 M, were studied. For this purpose, potentiodynamic polarisation, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), linear polarisation resistance (LPR) techniques, and flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS) were utilised. The inhibitor molecules adsorbed on the brass surface were calculated to be in good agreement with the Langmuir adsorption isotherm and the standard free enthalpy of adsorption (??G _ads ^° ). Hyamine effectively improved the corrosion inhibition of brass and acted as a mixed-type inhibitor on alloy surfaces. The surface morphology of the alloy was also clarified by optical microscopic and SEM techniques. A theoretical study of the corrosion inhibition efficiency of hyamine molecule was carried out using density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) basis set level.     

A Theoretical Study of the Interaction of Hydrogen and Oxygen with Palladium or Gold Adsorbed on Pyridine‐Like Nitrogen‐Doped Graphene

The interaction of H₂ and O₂ molecules in the presence of nitrogen‐doped graphene decorated with either a palladium or gold atom was investigated by using density functional theory. It was found that two hydrogen molecules were adsorbed on the palladium atom. The interaction of these adsorbed hydrogen molecules with two oxygen molecules generates two hydrogen peroxide molecules first through a Eley–Rideal mechanism and then through a Langmuir–Hinshelwood mechanism. The barrier energies for this reaction were small; therefore, we expect that this process may occur spontaneously at room temperature. In the case of gold, a single hydrogen molecule is adsorbed and dissociated on the metal atom. The interaction of the dissociated hydrogen molecule on the surface with one oxygen molecule generates a water molecule. The competitive adsorption between oxygen and hydrogen molecules slightly favors oxygen adsorption.     

Adsorption equilibrium and kinetics on N-lauroyl-N-methylglucamide at air/water interface

The adsorption equilibrium and kinetics of N-lauroyl-N-methylglucamide (MEGA-12) aqueous solution were studied. The critical micelle concentration, the maximum surface excess, and the minimum area per molecule of MEGA-12 were obtained as 2.48 × 10⁻⁴ mol/l, 4.883 × 10⁻⁶ mol/m², and 0.34 nm², respectively. The adsorption kinetics of MEGA-12 was studied by the maximum bubble pressure method. The result shows that in the initial stage or at small MEGA-12 concentrations, the adsorption process is diffusion-controlled; however, it changes to become adsorption-controlled at the end of the process. The effects of temperature, inorganic salts, alcohols, and ionic liquid on the adsorption kinetics were also discussed. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Electrochemical and FTIR studies of -phenylalanine adsorption at the Au(111) electrode

The adsorption of -phenylalanine (Phe) at the Au(111) electrode surface has been studied using electrochemical techniques and subtractively normalized interfacial Fourier transform infrared (SNIFTIR) techniques. The electrochemical measurements of cyclic voltammetry, differential capacity and chronocoulometry were used to determine Gibbs energies of adsorption and the reference (E₁) and sample (E₂) potentials to be used in the spectroscopic measurements. The vibrational spectra have been used to determine: (i) the orientation of the molecule at the surface as a function of potential; (ii) the dependence of the band intensity on the surface coverage; (iii) the character of surface coordination, and (iv) the oxidation of adsorbed Phe molecules at positive potentials. The adsorption of Phe is characterized by ΔG values ranging from −18 to −37 kJ mol⁻¹ that are characteristic for a weak chemisorption of small aromatic molecules. The electrochemical and SNIFTIR measurements indicated that adsorbed Phe molecules change orientation as a function of applied potential. At the negatively charged surface Phe is predominantly adsorbed in the neutral form of the amino acid. At potentials positive to the pzc, adsorption occurs predominantly in the zwitterionic form with the ---COO⁻ group directed towards the surface and the ammonium group towards the solution. At more positive potentials electrocatalytic oxidation of Phe occurs and is marked by the appearance of the CO₂ asymmetric stretch band in the FTIR spectrum. Thus, relative to pzc, Phe is weakly chemisorbed at negative potentials, changes orientation at potentials close to the pzc and is oxidized at positive potentials.     

Solid phase immune reactions as monitored by sedimentation field-flow fractionation

Summary Sedimentation field-flow fractionation was shown to permit the precise evaluation of surface concentrations of human IgG, adsorbed to polystyrene latex spheres of different sizes. Unlike conventional techniques for measuring protein uptake by colloidal substrates, this method allowed a direct evaluation of mass adsorbed per unit area, without the need for potentially destructive labelling reactions. Thus, a four hour adsorption of IgG from a 3–10 fold excess of protein in solution yielded surface concentrations which were 1.4±0.1 mg/m² on a 272 nm latex and 1.9±0.1 mg/m² on a latex with a diameter of 142 nm. The lower value coincided with the estimated monolayer surface coverage. The IgG-PS 272 nm adsorption complex was shown to take up negligible amounts of HSA from a 10 mg/mL solution, while its specific uptake of a polyclonal rabbit anti-human IgG was 2.6 molecules per molecule of adsorbed antigen. The same ratio was found for the smaller particles. The surface concentration of adsorbed second antibody, often crucial in immunodiagnostic quantifications, was therefore found to be significantly enhanced by the increased substrate curvature presented by the smaller particles.Dedicated to Professor Leslie S. Ettre on the occasion of his 70th birthday.     

The mechanism of methanol formation and other reactions following formaldehyde adsorption on Ni(110)

The adsorption/desorption and reactive behavior of formaldehyde was studied on clean single-crystal Ni(110) at adsorption temperatures down to 200 °K. For low exposures of the surface to formaldehyde, hydrogen and CO binding states were populated due to decomposition of the molecule upon adsorption. Higher exposures gave rise to a decomposition-limited hydrogen peak exhibiting an activation energy of 20 kcal/gmol and an apparent frequency factor of 10¹⁴ sec^?1. At initial coverages of H₂CO exceeding about 0.5, monolayer methanol was observed to form. The formation of methanol involved a hydrogen atom transfer between two adsorbed H₂CO molecules and did not occur totally via surface hydrogen. Self-oxidation to form CO₂ was also observed. The surface exhibited reaction heterogeneity, and the surface reactivity was observed to depend on the temperature of adsorption of reactants, suggesting strong adsorbate-induced surface “reconstruction.”     

Adsorption kinetics of protein mixtures. A tentative explanation of “the vroman effect”

A model for protein adsorption kinetics is presented. This model includes diffusion limited adsorption, adsorption and desorption rate constants which are dependent on the surface concentration and an interaction term for the mutual influence of the adsorbed protein molecules. It is shown that, in first approximation, the values of the adsorption and desorption rate constants are exponential functions of the surface concentration. Assuming an adequate interaction term it is possible to show with this model for the adsorption kinetics of a mixture of proteins that the ratio of the adsorbed proteins is strongly dependent on the overall surface concentration even if the ratio of the bulk concentrations of these proteins is kept constant. Differences in interaction terms for the different proteins offer a possible explanation for the peculiar behaviour of plasma protein adsorption on a surface at different dilutions of the plasma, the so called “Vroman effect”.