Electromechanical Properties of an Ultrathin Layer of Directionally Aligned Helical Polypeptides

The electromechanical properties of a monomolecular film of poly-γ-benzyl-L-glutamate (PBLG) 15 nanometers thick grafted at the carboxyl-terminal end to a flat aluminum surface were measured. The field-induced change in film thickness, dominated by a large inverse-piezoelectric effect, demonstrates...

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Veröffentlicht in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1998-01, Vol.279 (5347), p.57-60
Hauptverfasser: Jaworek, T., Neher, D., Wegner, G., Wieringa, R. H., Schouten, A. J.
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:The electromechanical properties of a monomolecular film of poly-γ-benzyl-L-glutamate (PBLG) 15 nanometers thick grafted at the carboxyl-terminal end to a flat aluminum surface were measured. The field-induced change in film thickness, dominated by a large inverse-piezoelectric effect, demonstrates that the "grafting-from" technique forces the chains into a parallel arrangement. The mechanical plate modulus of the film as determined by electrostriction agrees with the theoretical prediction for a single PBLG molecule along the chain axis. The experiments show that ultrathin polypeptide layers with large persistent polarization can be fabricated by the grafting approach.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.279.5347.57