Properties of the Langmuir and Langmuir\u2013Blodgett monolayers of cholesterol-cyclosporine A on water and polymer support

K Przykaza,A E Wiącek,M Jurak,K Woźniak,R Mroczka

doi:10.1007/s10450-019-00117-2

K Przykaza, A E Wiącek + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10450-019-00117-2

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Abstract

The paper deals with the cholesterol–cyclosporine A (Chol–CsA) monolayers at the air/water interface investigated using the Langmuir trough coupled with the Brewster’s angle microscopy. The compressed films were transferred onto the PEEK polymer support by means of the Langmuir–Blodgett technique. To improve molecules adhesion and organization the PEEK surface was treated with air plasma before thin films deposition. The obtained surfaces were characterized by means of atomic force microscope (AFM). Then, the wettability of the supported monolayers was determined by the contact angle measurements. Finally, the surface free energy and its components were evaluated from the theoretical approach proposed by van Oss et al. The obtained results reveal correlation between properties of the Langmuir monolayers at the air/water interface and those of the Langmuir–Blodgett films on PEEK. This was found to be helpful for understanding the wettability of organized molecular films on the polymer support as far as biocompatibility improve is concerned. The preparation of films with defined polarity and various compositions is an important step in the development of polymer surfaces with increased biofunctionality. It is believed that the results presented in this paper can be exploited in the in vivo studies.

Highlights

Keywords Langmuir monolayer · Cyclosporine A · Cholesterol · Polyetheretherketone · Atomic force microscopy · Wettability · Surface free energy. Both natural and synthetic polymers are common in our environment. Owing to their properties they find many applications in various areas of life, e.g. they can be used in textile, building and food industry as well as in medicine (Hubbell 1994)
Chol was purchased from Sigma-Aldrich and cyclosporine A (CsA) from Alfa Aesar, both with the purity above 99%
Cholesterol molecules form a stable monolayer on the water subphase at room temperature (20 °C)

Summary

Introduction

Both natural and synthetic polymers are common in our environment. Owing to their properties they find many applications in various areas of life, e.g. they can be used in textile, building and food industry as well as in medicine (Hubbell 1994). The group of polymers with phenomenal mechanical and dielectric properties such as great mechanical and chemical resistance, thermal and radiation stability and biocompatibility to living tissues includes polyaryletherketones. The main representative polymer of this group is polyetheretherketone (PEEK). PEEK is a semi-crystalline linear polycyclic aromatic thermoplastic (Fig. 1). It has an aromatic molecular backbone with functional groups between the aryl rings (Kurtz 2012; Ma and Tang 2014; Wiącek et al 2016a, b)

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