Analyte chemisorption and sensing on n- and p-channel copper phthalocyanine thin-film transistors.

Chemical sensing properties of phthalocyanine thin-film transistors have been investigated using nearly identical n- and p-channel devices. P-type copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) has been modified with fluorine groups to convert the charge carriers from holes to electrons. The sensor responses to the tight binding analyte dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP) and weak binding analyte methanol (MeOH) were compared in air and N(2).

Electrode independent chemoresistive response for cobalt phthalocyanine in the space charge limited conductivity regime.

The electrical properties of 50 nm thick metallophthalocyanine films, prepared by organic molecular beam epitaxy (OMBE) on interdigitated electrodes, were studied with DC current-voltage measurements and impedance spectroscopy. The transition from Ohmic behavior at low voltages to space-charge-limited conductivity (SCLC) at higher voltages depends on the metal electrode (Pt, Pd, and Au), but does not correlate with the work function of the electrode. Impedance spectroscopy studies show the coexistence of low- and high-frequency traps in the thin film devices, and the contribution of low-frequency traps associated with Ohmic behavior diminishes at higher bias.

Thermodynamics of phase transitions in langmuir monolayers observed by vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy.

Vibrational sum-frequency spectroscopy (VSFS) was used to study gauche defects in octadecylamine (ODA) monolayers at the air/water interface. The VSFS spectra provide unique insights into phase transitions that occur as a result of changes in the structure of the monolayer's hydrophobic region. These changes can be attributed to the increased presence of gauche conformers in the ODA alkyl chains during the monolayer's transition from the solid to liquid phase.

The Vroman effect: a molecular level description of fibrinogen displacement.

The molecular level details of the displacement of surface adsorbed fibrinogen from silica substrates were studied by atomic force microscopy, immunochemical assays, fluorescence microscopy, and vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy. The results showed that human plasma fibrinogen (HPF) can be readily displaced from the interface by other plasma proteins near neutral pH because the positively charged alpha C domains on HPF sit between the rest of the macromolecule and the underlying surface. The alpha C domains make weak electrostatic contact with the substrate, which is manifest by a high degree of alignment of Lys and Arg residues.