Abstract
Poly-γ-methyl- l-glutamate (PMG) spread as a monolayer at the air/water interface is capable of existing either in the α (helix coil) or in the β (pleated sheet) conformations. By suitable choice of a spreading solvent, the investigator may control which conformation is dominantly present in the interface. The β conformer is characterized by a high surface viscosity which fails with rising temperature, while the a conformer at an equivalent surface concentration exhibits a relatively low surface viscosity which increases irreversibly with temperature. We interpret these results to mean that the a helices are partly denatured by the surface environment, while the intermolecular hydrogen bonds in the β structure are weakened by rising temperature. In no case examined by us in a complete denaturation of the a helices to the β structure observed.
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