title: Salt concentration and pH-dependent adsorption of two polypeptides on planar and divided alumina surfaces. In situ IR investigations.
abstract: The adsorption of proteins is the first process to take place when a solid is immersed in a biological fluid; though not yet thoroughly understood at a molecular level, this process is also known to be strongly influenced by the presence of salt in solution or by pH changes. In the present work, poly-L-glutamic acid (PG) and poly-L-lysine (PL) were selected to mimic the behavior of some protein fragments. Their adsorption was investigated by infrared spectroscopy in various modes, both on planar and on divided (powder) surfaces of aluminum oxide. These two peptides were shown to have different behaviors when adsorbed from solutions with or without CaCl2 and at various pH values. Polarization modulation-reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy, applied in a special cell designed to characterize the solid surface in contact with the liquid, enabled the observation of the influence of pH and salts upon polypeptide adsorption. At pH values higher than 5 and in the presence of CaCl2 in solution, a net increase of the PG adsorbed amount is observed, whereas no such effect could be detected for PL. Specific interactions between the COO- groups on the side chains and the surface, or between those of two different molecules, was inferred. Interestingly, similar conclusions could be drawn for the surface of alumina powders contacted with solutions of PG and PL and characterized by attenuated total reflectance IR. This work demonstrates the potential for IR investigations of solid oxide-liquid interfaces combining the study of planar and finely divided surfaces.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Réactivité de Surface, CNRS UMR 7609, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 4 place Jussieu, Case 178, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France. pradier@ccr.jussieu.fr
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Pradier
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Humblot
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Stievano
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Méthivier
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Lambert
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D000537:Aluminum Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D002122:Calcium Chloride / Q000737:chemistry*; D002627:Chemistry, Physical / Q000379:methods; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008956:Models, Chemical; D049329:Nanostructures; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry*; D011099:Polyglutamic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D011208:Powders; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D013055:Spectrophotometry, Infrared / Q000379:methods*; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides; D011208:Powders; D011506:Proteins; D011099:Polyglutamic Acid; D000537:Aluminum Oxide; D002122:Calcium Chloride