Protein monolayers at interfaces

The absorption of proteins in molecular layers under well controlled conditions results in the modification of interfaces which is highly specific and has opened up new perspectives to materials science. In life sciences, the construction of biomimetic membrane models, involving proteins and lipids, bears the potential for novel studies of signal transduction and amplification, immuno response, or cell—cell communication. The assembly of such supramolecular structures involves the self-organization of biological components and biospecific interactions between its building blocks, and leads to systems that span a broad range from complex fluids to monomolecular protein crystal sheets.