Small Grants for Exploratory Research: Polymer-Surfactant and Protein-Lipid Inteactions at Aqueous Interfaces

Somasundaran 9316228 SGER: Polymer/Surfactant and Protein/Lipid Interactions at Aqueous Interfaces This Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) applies recently developed methods in air/water surface micromanometry to obtain the thermodynamic parameters for selected polymers and proteins referenced to near-ideal monolayer states at very low surface pressures and densities. These experiments should lead to the entropies and other thermodynamic functions for dense non-ideal conditions. The exploratory results will be used to adapt the surface micromanometry method to the measurement of interactions of polymers and proteins with surfactants. The results are expected to give information on polymer confirmations and the energetics of polymer-amphiphiles complexes at the fluid interfaces and to assist progress in several technologies, including the preparation of molecular assemblies on the nano scale, characterization and use of chiral complexes, aspects of the mechanisms of drug action related to membranes, wettability and foam and emulsion control. The grant provides for the transfer of equipment from British Petroleum ***