Evaluation of amine- and amide-terminated self-assembled monolayers as 'Molecular glues' for Au and SiO2 substrates

A series of organic monolayers containing amine and amide functional groups on silicon and gold substrates were characterized using x‐ray photoelectron and infrared spectroscopies. It was determined that the amine‐terminated monolayers had 70% of the amine groups in the —NH2 chemical state after removal from pure water. Next, Escherichia coli bacteria were exposed to the surfaces in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the monolayers as molecular adhesive agents. It was determined that the bacteria adhere readily to all of the amine monolayers but did not interact with the amide‐ containing monolayer. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.