Closed self-assemblies

Taken together, the EM and the csac represent the concentration window over which the closed, self-assembled structure is thermodynamically stable. The wider this window, the more stable the complex is. Thus an overall efficiency of the self-assembly process (e) may be defined in terms of csac and EM. 

Langmuir-Blodgett films (LB) and self assembled monolayers (SAM) deposited on metal surfaces have been studied by SERS spectroscopy in several investigations. For example, mono- and bilayers of phospholipids and cholesterol deposited on a rutile prism with a silver coating have been analyzed in contact with water. The study showed that in these models of biological membranes the second layer modified the fluidity of the first monolayer, and revealed the conformation of the polar head close to the silver [4.300]. 

In a separate study using the JKR technique, Chaudhury and Owen [48,49] attempted to understand the correlation between the contact adhesion hysteresis and the phase state of the monolayers films. In these studies, Chaudhury and Owen prepared self-assembled layers of hydrolyzed hexadecyltrichlorosilane (HTS) on oxidized PDMS surfaces at varying degrees of coverage by vapor phase adsorption. The phase state of the monolayers changes from crystalline (solidlike) to amoiphous (liquid-like) as the surface coverage (0s) decreases. It was found that contact adhesion hysteresis was the highest for the most closely packed... 

FIG. 1 Self-assembled structures in amphiphilic systems micellar structures (a) and (b) exist in aqueous solution as well as in ternary oil/water/amphiphile mixtures. In the latter case, they are swollen by the oil on the hydrophobic (tail) side. Monolayers (c) separate water from oil domains in ternary systems. Lipids in water tend to form bilayers (d) rather than micelles, since their hydrophobic block (two chains) is so compact and bulky, compared to the head group, that they cannot easily pack into a sphere [4]. At small concentrations, bilayers often close up to form vesicles (e). Some surfactants also form cyhndrical (wormlike) micelles (not shown). 

Amphiphilic molecules (surfactants) are composed of two different parts hydrophobic tail and hydrophilic head [1 ]. Due to their chemical structure they self-assemble into internal surfaces in water solutions or in mixtures of oil and water, where the tails are separated from the water solvent. These surfaces can form closed spherical or cylindrical micelles or bicontinuous phases [3,5]. In the latter case a single surface extends over the volume of the system and divides it into separated and mutually interwoven subvolumes. 

AB diblock copolymers in the presence of a selective surface can form an adsorbed layer, which is a planar form of aggregation or self-assembly. This is very useful in the manipulation of the surface properties of solid surfaces, especially those that are employed in liquid media. Several situations have been studied both theoretically and experimentally, among them the case of a selective surface but a nonselective solvent [75] which results in swelling of both the anchor and the buoy layers. However, we concentrate on the situation most closely related to the micelle conditions just discussed, namely, adsorption from a selective solvent. Our theoretical discussion is adapted and abbreviated from that of Marques et al. [76], who considered many features not discussed here. They began their analysis from the grand canonical free energy of a block copolymer layer in equilibrium with a reservoir containing soluble block copolymer at chemical potential peK. They also considered the possible effects of micellization in solution on the adsorption process [61]. We assume in this presentation that the anchor layer is in a solvent-free, melt state above Tg. The anchor layer is assumed to be thin and smooth, with a sharp interface between it and the solvent swollen buoy layer. 

Recent publications on the thermal stability of proteins organized in dense solid films, deposited by LB (Nicolini et al. 1993, Facci et al. 1994, Erokhin et al. 1995) and by self-assembling (Shen et al. 1993), leave several questions unanswered, hi particular, it is still not completely clear which parameter is responsible for this phenomenon. Two main factors are discussed when speaking about induced thermal stabihty, namely, decreased water content and molecular close packing (Nicolini et al. 1993). It seems that both of them work in parallel, and unfortunately it is difficult to settle directly which one plays the dominant role. 

The fact that CD spectra of BR in LB and self-assembled films show similar behavior with respect to temperamre is also not strange. Because the basic block of the fihn in both cases is the membrane fragment, which is already closely packed, there is no principal difference between these samples with regard to packing. The difference in the distribution of these fragments cannot be critical for thermal stability. 

This comparative study pointed out molecular close packing as a key parameter responsible for the thermal stability of proteins in films. In the case of BR, this close packing is reached due to the nature of the sample, while LB organization seems to be a more general procedure, for the same goal can be reached for practically any type of protein sample. The last statement was even confirmed by the comparison of the thermal behavior of extracted separated BR in self-assembled and LB films. It was found that BR in LB films is more stable for this kind of sample. The results will be reported in detail elsewhere. 

In this chapter we describe the basic principles involved in the controlled production and modification of two-dimensional protein crystals. These are synthesized in nature as the outermost cell surface layer (S-layer) of prokaryotic organisms and have been successfully applied as basic building blocks in a biomolecular construction kit. Most importantly, the constituent subunits of the S-layer lattices have the capability to recrystallize into iso-porous closed monolayers in suspension, at liquid-surface interfaces, on lipid films, on liposomes, and on solid supports (e.g., silicon wafers, metals, and polymers). The self-assembled monomolecular lattices have been utilized for the immobilization of functional biomolecules in an ordered fashion and for their controlled confinement in defined areas of nanometer dimension. Thus, S-layers fulfill key requirements for the development of new supramolecular materials and enable the design of a broad spectrum of nanoscale devices, as required in molecular nanotechnology, nanobiotechnology, and biomimetics [1-3]. 

In the natural system the sites of spore wall formation, i.e. the sporan-gial loculus, act as mini-reactor vessels in which the above interactions can occur. If a polymerisation occurs within one such structure, the resulting (polymer) architectures will probably closely resemble the self-assembled ones formed in our artificial sporangia. 

Self-assembled structures can be closed if all the potential binding sites are utilized, or open if they are not. Closed assemblies have a definite geometry and stoichiometry, while open assemblies exist as mixtures of oligomers or polymers of varying stoichiometry. In addition, the self-assembled structure can be classified as cooperative if the multiple binding interactions reinforce each other to yield enhanced stability, or trivial if the binding interactions do not cooperate in the... 

The ligand group can be introduced either on the meso or on the /5-pyrrole position of the porphyrin ring, but the synthesis of the meso-functionalized derivatives is easier and has been more widely exploited. Balch (50-53) reported that the insertion of trivalent ions such as Fe(III) (32) and Mn(III) (33) into octaethyl porphyrins functionalized at one meso position with a hydroxy group (oxophlorins) leads to the formation of a dimeric head-to-tail complex in solution (Fig. 11a) (50,51). An X-ray crystal structure was obtained for the analogous In(III) complex (34), and this confirmed the head-to-tail geometry that the authors inferred for the other dimers in solution (53) (Fig. lib). The dimers are stable in chloroform but open on addition of protic acids or pyridine (52). The Fe(III) octaethyloxophlorin dimer (52) is easily oxidized by silver salts. The one-electron oxidation is more favorable than for the corresponding monomer or p-oxo dimer, presumably because of the close interaction of the 7r-systems in the self-assembled dimer. 

Hunter (60) reported a self-assembled open polymer formed by a zinc porphyrin bearing one para-aniline substituent at the meso position. The ortho- and mela-analogs discussed above form closed dimers, but the geometry of the para-derivative precludes this, and polymerization is the only alternative (76, Fig. 31). Although the dilution experiments could be fitted to a non-cooperative polymerization model with a pairwise association constant (K = 190 M 1) practically identical to that found for simple aniline-zinc porphyrin complexes (K = 130 M 1), broadening of the 4H NMR spectrum at high concentrations is characteristic of oligomerization. 

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