POLYELECTROLYTE MOLECULE CONFORMATION NEAR A CHARGED SURFACE

The scaling theory of conformation of a weakly charged polyelectrolyte molecule attached onto a charged surface is developed. It is shown th at the long-range interaction between charged monomer units and simila ry (or oppositely) charged surface provides many more qualitatively di fferent regimes of behaviour of polyelectrolyte molecule than short-ra nge repulsion (or attraction) in the case of uncharged polymers near r epulsive (or adsorbing) surface. The scaling indices describing orient ation and stretching of grafted polyion near similarly charged surface as well as the adsorption of macromolecule due to long-range electros tatic attraction to the oppositely charged surface are obtained.