X-ray and neutron surface scattering for studying lipid/polymer assemblies at the air–liquid and solid–liquid interfaces

Simple mono- and bilayers, built of amphiphilic molecules and prepared at air–liquid or solid–liquid interfaces, can be used as models to study such effects as water penetration, hydrocarbon chain packing, and structural changes due to head group modification. In the paper, we will discuss neutron and X-ray reflectometry and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction techniques used to explore structures of such ultra-thin organic films in different environments. We will illustrate the use of these methods to characterize the morphologies of the following systems: (i) polyethylene glycol-modified distearoylphosphatidylethanolamine monolayers at air–liquid and solid–liquid interfaces; and (ii) assemblies of branched polyethyleneimine polymer and dimyristoylphophatidylcholine lipid at solid–liquid interfaces.