Invited Paper BI+AS-TuA1
Surface Characterization Meets Cells and Proteins

Tuesday, October 30, 2012, 2:00 pm, Room 23

Surfaces such as Ni(100) and Si(100) have been extensively studied and each has been found to be more complicated than simple geometric models would suggest. In this context, consider more mobile surfaces than these precisely defined crystal surfaces that are comprised of 20 amino acids integrated into hundreds of different proteins. Also, these surfaces may contain lipids and complex saccharide structures. It should be apparent that these surfaces can be staggeringly complex, and yet, as with surfaces in general, they efficiently catalyze complex reactions. But they do this at room temperature and atmospheric pressure in a way that makes life possible. For these reasons, the ability to characterize such surfaces will certainly lead to advances in surface design and surface functionality. Tools taken from the “surface science tool chest” can be applied in special ways to complement the tools developed by biologists for molecularly characterizing such surfaces. This talk, primarily focused on electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), will start with analysis of amino acids and peptides, move to adsorbed protein films and finally consider complex surfaces such as decellularized extracellular matrices and cell monolayers.