Rw. Tillmann et al., AFM-INVESTIGATION OF THE MOLECULAR-STRUCTURE OF FILMS FROM A POLYMERIZABLE 2-CHAIN LIPID, Chemistry and physics of lipids, 73(1-2), 1994, pp. 81-89
Monolayers of the polymerizable two-chain lipid dimethyl-bis[pentacosa
diinoic-oxyethyl] ammonuim bromide were investigated by him balance te
chniques and with a combined microfluorescence/atomic force microscope
. Images at molecular resolution from both headgroup side up and tail
side up films are presented. The superposition of the two lattices def
ines a unit cell containing two molecules. The combined microfluoresce
nce/atomic force microscope in one instrument allowed us to assign the
direction of the polymer backbone relative to the molecular orientati
on in the polymerized films. Two clearly distinct surface morphologies
were found in the polymeric films when imaged from the tail and from
the head side. The first being hat with a highly ordered molecular lat
tice and the second showing an ondulated surface topology at lower mag
nifications with poor order at molecular dimensions probably caused by
a lattice frustration.