Structure and Orientation of Water at Charged Lipid Monolayer/Water Interfaces Probed by Heterodyne-Detected Vibrational Sum Frequency Generation Spectroscopy

• DOI: 10.1021/ja104327t
• Publication Date: 2010-07-16T11:51:52Z
• Authors: Jahur A. Mondal; Satoshi Nihonyanagi; Shoichi Yamaguchi; Tahei Tahara
• Keywords: Cationic polymerization

Cell membrane/water interfaces provide a unique environment for many biochemical reactions, and associated interfacial water is an integral part of such reactions. A molecular level understanding the structure orientation at lipid/water required to realize complex chemistry biointerfaces. Here we report heterodyne-detected vibrational sum frequency generation (HD-VSFG) studies lipid monolayer/water interfaces. At charged interfaces, governed by net charge on headgroup; anionic interface, in hydrogen-up orientation, cationic hydrogen-down orientation. has comparable hydrogen bond strength, it analogous bulk water.