Using neutron reflectivity together with an appropriate electrochemical cell, we have studied the effects of transverse electric field on the Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) monolayer initially adsorbed at the interface of the aqueous solution and a conductive doped-silicon wafer. Depending on the sign of the initial potential, a second layer is adsorbed or not on top of the first whereas a subsequent reversal of potential has no effect. We show that this behaviour reveals the slow and remanent electric polarization of the first BSA layer. Based on the permanent dipolar structure of BSA, we suggest an analogy with dipolar glasses that may account for the slowness and memory of the process.
PACS numbers:Protein adsorption on solid surfaces is a fundamental phenomenon that plays a central role in biotechnology; e.g.for biomaterials and biocompatibility improvement [1]. Proteins are polyampholytes (i.e. carry both positive and negative charges) and amphiphiles (i.e. carry both hydrophilic and hydrophobic parts) and these features make the thermodynamics of their interactions with a surface particularly rich and extensively studied [2]. Studies of the dynamics of adsorbed proteins mainly focus on adsorption kinetics that may take place in a few tens of minutes[3] but sometime is much slower, history dependent and displays some irreversible features [4,5]. In these latter cases, the slow dynamics is viewed as inherent to the random addition of new molecules onto the surface and described in terms of the Random Sequential Adsorption (RSA) model[6] that displays slow dynamics typical of glass or jamming transition. The counterpart of this jammed behaviour is the slow relaxation of the in-plane density of the adsorbed layer after an external perturbation or spontaneous fluctuations [7]. Much less studied and also presumably quite different are external perturbations that retain the density constant but should in principle operate on the orientation of adsorbed molecules, although this handling of adsorbed layer has many practical significances, e.g. for immobilized enzymes, immunoassays and biosensors. Due to the electrical charges of proteins, electrical stimuli are the most obvious with respect to this orientation. But studies in this direction are still sparse [8][9][10][11] and only concerned up to now with ellipsometry or electrochemical measurements, which produce ambiguous results due to technical limitations [12].In this paper, we report a neutron reflectivity study on the effects of transverse electric field on a Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) monolayer initially adsorbed at silicon/water interface. Our results show a slow and remanent polarization of this layer revealed by the formation of a second layer on top of the first. Based on the BSA structure that displays a permanent electric dipole [13], these features suggest an analogy with spin glasses that has not been considered until now.
SAMPLES AND EXPERIMENTAL DEVICEBSA (Sigma-Aldrich) was diluted at a concentration of 1 mg/ml in heavy water (99.90 % 2 H, Euriso-top...