Polymer coatings are frequently utilized to control and modify substrate properties. The performance of the coatings is often determined by the first polymer layers between the substrate and the bulk polymer material, which are termed interphase. Standard methods have failed to completely characterize this interphase, because its properties change significantly over a few nanometers. Here we de...

We investigate the phenomenon of multilayer formation via layer-by-layer deposition of alternating charged polyelectrolytes. Using mean-field theory, we find that a strong short-range attraction between the two types of polymer chains is essential for the formation of multilayers. For strong enough short-range attraction, the adsorbed amount per layer increases (after an initial decrease), and ...

We performed molecular dynamics simulations of the electrostatic assembly of multilayers of flexible polyelectrolytes at a charged surface. The multilayer build-up was achieved through sequential adsorption of oppositely charged polymers in a layer-by-layer fashion from dilute polyelectrolyte solutions. The steady-state multilayer growth proceeds through a charge reversal of the adsorbed polyme...

The adsorption and assembly of B18 peptide on various solid surfaces were studied by reflectometry techniques and atomic force microscopy. B18 is the minimal membrane binding and fusogenic motif of the sea urchin protein bindin, which mediates the fertilization process. Silicon substrates were modified to obtain hydrophilic charged surfaces (oxide layer and polyelectrolyte multilayers) and hydr...

Blood compatibility of cardiovascular implants is still a major concern. Rapid endothelialization these implant surfaces has emerged as promising strategy to enhance hemocompatibility and prevent complications such thrombus formation restenosis. The successful mostly depends on the migration endothelial cells (ECs), differentiation stem cells, inhibition smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation. ...

Selective ion separation via capacitive deionization (CDI) is of relevance because its environmental and industrial applications in water purification softening, heavy metal removal, resource recovery. Conventionally, carbon electrodes ion-selective membranes have been used for selective removal anions cations. In this study, we engineered a CDI cell with two identical NiHCF electrodes, separat...

Immunoassays have been widely used as the standard technology for quantitative detection of analyte concentrations in the fields of medicine, environmental science, and food science. Immunoassays such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), fluorescence immunoassays (FIA), electrochemical immunoassay (EIA), immunoagglutination assays (IAA) and radioimmunoassays (RIA) are the most commonl...

We present a dextran modified silicon microring resonator sensor for high density antibody immobilization. An array of sensors consisting of three sensor rings and a reference ring was fabricated and its surface sensitivity and the limit of detection were obtained using polyelectrolyte multilayers. The mass sensitivity and the limit of detection of the fabricated sensor ring are 0.35 nm/ng mm a...

Lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have attracted widespread interests in bioapplications due to their unique optical properties by converting near infrared excitation to visible emission. However, relatively low quantum yield prompts a need for developing methods for fluorescence enhancement. Plasmon nanostructures are known to efficiently enhance fluorescence of the surroundi...

Swelling and shrinking of polyelectrolyte microcapsules consisting of poly(styrene sulfonate, sodium salt) (PSS) and poly(diallyldimethyl ammonium) chloride (PDADMAC) multilayers have been observed in response to temperature and electrolyte exposure, respectively. Heat-induced capsule swelling and capsule wall volume reduction were observed by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and scann...