title: Surface morphology and biological activity of protein thin films produced by electrospray deposition.
abstract: Protein thin films were prepared by the electrospray deposition (ESD) method from aqueous solutions of alpha-lactalbumin (alpha-LA) at different concentrations, and their surface morphologies and biological activities were characterized. The surface morphologies of the deposited films were observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The SEM and AFM images showed that the film surfaces had a fine porous structure, in which the pore diameters ranged from 40 to 600 nm. The biological activities of the cross-linked protein films were tested by the mechanochemical method. The response to calcium ion (Ca(2+)) demonstrated that the biological activity of the films was preserved. These results indicate that the ESD method is potentially useful for the fabrication of active protein thin films. The freestanding protein thin films prepared by ESD and postdeposition cross-linking provide novel options for protein-based biomaterials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials and International Research Center of Macromolecular Science, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Okayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Ikuo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Uematsu
authors.forename: Hidetoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Morota
authors.forename: Mie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Minagawa
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tanioka
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamagata
authors.forename: Kozo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Inoue
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D001704:Biopolymers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D002118:Calcium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000737:chemistry; D007768:Lactalbumin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D011107:Polylysine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D001704:Biopolymers; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D011107:Polylysine; D007768:Lactalbumin; D002118:Calcium