Investigating the properties of supported vesicular layers on titanium dioxide by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation measurements

Adsorption of phospholipid vesicles on titanium dioxide was studied by a combination of quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) and atomic force microscopy techniques. Vesicle size, concentration in solution, and bilayer composition were systematically varied. A strong dependence of the QCM-D response (magnitude of the frequency and dissipation factor shifts) on the vesicle concentration in solution was observed. QCM-D data were compared with a linear viscoelastic model based on the Voight element to determine layer thickness, density, elastic modulus, and viscosity. Based on the results of this comparison, it is proposed that (i) layer thickness and density, as sensed by QCM-D, saturate much earlier (in time) than the actual surface coverage of the vesicles (number of vesicles per unit area); (ii) changes in surface coverage that occur after the density and thickness, as sensed by QCM-D, have saturated, are interpreted by the model as changes in the layer's viscoelastic properties. This is caused by the replacement of the viscous media (water) between the vesicles by viscoelastic media of similar density (vesicles); (iii) viscoelastic properties of layers formed at different vesicle concentrations differ significantly, while the vesicle surface coverage in those layers does not. Based on the comparison between the atomic force microscopy images and QCM-D data acquired at various vesicle concentrations it is proposed that QCM-D response is not directly related to the surface coverage of the vesicles.