Experimental studies on the desorption of adsorbed proteins from liquid interfaces

The desorption of proteins from liquid interfaces depends on the conditions under which they have been adsorbed. At low concentrations, the adsorption process takes a comparatively long time and the molecules arriving at the interface have enough space and time to adsorb and unfold. In contrast, adsorption from higher concentrated solutions is faster and adsorbing molecules strongly compete from the beginning of the process. The rate of desorption is studied as a function of the adsorption layer coverage in order to understand to what extend protein adsorption is reversible. The experimental findings cannot give a clear answer on the reversibility, however, the theoretical analysis shows that desorption rates for proteins are many orders of magnitude lower than those for usual surfactants. q 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.