Polymeric analogs of biological membranes

Abstract

Thin composite films of amphiphilic polymer (poly-4-vinyl pyridine, PVP) with addition of membrane lipids (cholesterol, dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, stearic and behenic acids) were constructed by Langmuir-Blodgett method to develop coatings miming functions of lipid membranes. The structures of the polymer/lipid monolayers on solid surfaces were analyzed by AFM. Morphology of PVP monolayer is varied from uniform smooth surface to a "labyrinthlike" one depending on the surface pressure of film deposition. Flexibility of macrochains of polymer plays an important role in the process of film formation due to "skeleton" structure of the polymer. The mixture of the polymer and a lowmolecule component mainly in the ratio 1:10 possesses the domain structure where the amphiphilic polymer appears to be a matrix in which circle domains of a lipid are embed. It is demonstrated that films of amphiphilic PVP are stable on the porous surface of anodized aluminum oxide, which appear to have stability to the influence of water.