Perturbation of nanoscale structure of polypeptide multilayer thin films

Multilayer thin films formed by sequential deposition of oppositely charged polypeptides on a charged surface are known from previous studies to comprise a mixture of types of secondary structure. Here, study of the perturbation of polypeptide film structure by deposition of poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly(styrenesulfonate) (PSS) on the film surface has revealed differences in behavior attributable to physical properties of the peptides. The methods of analysis were circular dichroism spectroscopy (CD), ultraviolet spectroscopy (UVS), and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). Films made of poly(L-lysine) (PLL) and poly(L-glutamic acid) (PLGA) with an average charge per monomer of about 1 were substantially more susceptible to perturbation of structure than films made of designed polypeptides with an average charge per monomer of about 0.5, despite preparation under identical conditions. PLL-PLGA films showed loss or gain of material and change in secondary structure content on perturbation, whether made of high molecular mass (ca. 90 kDa) or low molecular mass (ca. 14 kDa) polymers. By contrast, films made of very low molecular mass (ca. 3.5 kDa) designed polypeptides showed little change in secondary structure content. The data suggest that the penetrability of PSS or PAH into a film and therefore film density can depend substantially on the polypeptides of which it is made and the character of intermolecular interactions.