In a previous paper we could demonstrate the immobilization of mono- a
nd multithiolated cyclodextrins on gold surfaces and investigated the
film properties. In this paper we follow the self-assembly processes i
n time by optical and physicochemical methods for those three monothio
lated and a mixture of multithiolated cyclodextrin derivatives. The fo
rmation of cyclodextrin films on gold substrates was found to be a mul
tistep process involving an activation energy.