W0278

Neutron Reflectometry for the Study of Thin Films at the Solid-Liquid Interface. Shenda Baker, Steven Kolthammer, Greg Smith, Chris Toprakcioglu, Dept. of Chemistry, Harvey Mudd College, 301 East 12th St., Claremont, CA 91711 USA.

Determination of the structure of very thin films at the liquid-solid interface is quite difficult using traditional surface analytical techniques. However, neutron reflectometry has been shown to be extraordinarily useful for examining such films at a variety of interfaces. We have used this technique to determine the morphology and very small changes in films less than 100nm thick at liquid. We have determined a critical shear rate in polymer brushes adsorbed at an interface from a selective solvent. Below this critical shear rate, the brushes are not significantly affected, while above this rate, a fraction of the polymer is removed from the surface. We have also examined a polymeric attachment layer for DNA which may increase the binding site availability of complementary DNA targets. Finally, we have determined the structure of phosphoglyceride bilayers on porous polymer networks. Our plans for incorporation of membrane bound proteins and examination of transport and structural changes will also be discussed.