Pulsed plasma deposited maleic anhydride thin films as supports for lipid bilayers

Pulsed plasma polymerization has been used to deposit thin polymer films from maleic anhydride. By variations of the duty cycle (t_on/(t_on+t_off)) employed during the plasma treatment, it has been possible to achieve a high retention of the anhydride groups within the film. Hydration of the anhydride groups in water created a carboxylic acid functionalized film, which was used to support a negatively charged DMPG lipid bilayer using Ca²⁺ as a chelating agent. The capacitance and resistance of adsorbed DMPG on three films prepared at different plasma duty cycles could be correlated with the relative amount of anhydride groups present in the plasma polymer films.