posted on 2005-08-30, 00:00authored byChristophe Delajon, Thomas Gutberlet, Roland Steitz, Helmuth Möhwald, Rumen Krastev
The coupling of lipid molecules to polymer components in a planar biomimetic model membrane made
of a lipid bilayer (dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine) supported by polyelectrolyte multilayers is studied. The
polyelectrolyte support was prepared by layer-by-layer deposition of positively charged poly(allylamine
hydrochloride) (PAH) and negatively charged poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS). Two polymer sample
terminations were considered: positively charged (PAH-terminated) and negatively charged (PSS-terminated). Neutron reflectometry studies showed that, whereas positively charged samples did not favor
the deposition of lipid, negatively charged samples allowed the deposition of a lipid bilayer with a thickness
of ∼5 nm. In the latter case, formation of polyelectrolyte layers after the deposition of the lipid layer was
also possible.