Mesoscale Ordering of Phycocyanin Molecules in Langmuir-Blodgett Multilayers

Langmuir. 2022 Jan 11;38(1):86-91. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c02005. Epub 2021 Dec 17.

Abstract

Phycocyanin molecules, which are part of light-harvesting complexes in cyanobacteria, can be assembled into mesoscale multilayer nanofilms by the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. Results obtained by quartz crystal microbalance and atomic force microscopy confirm the homogeneity and reproducibility of phycocyanin Langmuir-Blodgett multilayer deposition. We show by cryo-electron microdiffraction that amorphous phycocyanin Langmuir-Blodgett multilayers form, after annealing at 150 °C and cooling to room temperature, a layered nanofibrillar lattice with rotational disorder. Scanning X-ray nanodiffraction suggests that structural transformation is not homogeneous through the film but limited to patches of up to about 10 μm diameter.

MeSH terms

  • Microscopy, Atomic Force
  • Phase Transition
  • Phycocyanin*
  • Quartz Crystal Microbalance Techniques*
  • Reproducibility of Results

Substances

  • Phycocyanin