Abstract:

The supra-molecular organization of the adsorbed collagen layer depends on the properties of the substrate surface and the preparation procedure. Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film of dodecanediyl-bis (dimethyl octadecyl ammonium bromide), a Gemini surfactant, transferred onto mica at zero surface pressure was utilized as the substrate, which was incubated into the solution in the presence of type I collagen at pH3.0 and 37℃. The morphologies of these samples were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM). After a given adsorption time, the movement and the turnover of some surfactant molecules in the monolayer led to exposure of the part of mica substrates to the collagen solution. The adsorbed collagen could readily and rapidly combine and form the network structure in the region of the monomolecular film, while it might gradually evolve into the network structure in the region of the relatively blank substrate with increasing adsorption time. Finally, both of them could come to be disordered intertwining collagen fibrils.

Key words: collagen; Gemini surfactant; LB film; AFM