Professor Mark L. Schlossman of the University of Illinois at Chicago and Professor Petr Vanysek of Northern Illinois University are supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry to conduct X-ray scattering studies on interfaces between immiscible electrolyte solutions. The goals of the proposed research is to systematically characterize the distribution of ions across interfaces between two immiscible electrolyte solutions, and to explore the structural dependence of protein-lipid binding at lipid monolayers adsorbed to liquid-liquid interfaces. The PIs will combine X-ray surface scattering with in situ electrochemical measurements to achieve these goals. The proposed work will advance our understanding of interfacial structure of liquid/liquid systems, and test fundamental assumptions underlying analytical and computational studies of the liquid/liquid interface. This research is also expected to advance our understanding of the structure-function relationship of membrane proteins that play a fundamental role in cell signaling and trafficking. Graduate and undergraduate students as well as post-doctoral associates will be trained in the use of X-ray scattering methods to solve electrochemical problems at the liquid/liquid interface, and will be exposed to a broad range of research disciplines.
Professor Mark L. Schlossman of the University of Illinois at Chicago and Professor Petr Vanysek of Northern Illinois University were supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry to conduct X-ray scattering studies on interfaces between immiscible electrolyte solutions. The completed research systematically characterized the distribution of ions across interfaces between two immiscible electrolyte solutions, and explored the structural dependence of protein-lipid binding at lipid monolayers adsorbed to liquid surfaces and interfaces. The PIs used X-ray surface scattering with in situ electrochemical measurements to achieve these goals. The completed work advances our understanding of interfacial structure of liquid/liquid systems, and tested fundamental assumptions underlying analytical and computational studies of the liquid/liquid interface. These studies of interfacial ion distributions provided fundamental information that underlies many applications in electroanalytical chemistry. This research also advanced our understanding of the influence of electrostatic fields on the structure of bio-lipid assemblies by using x-ray scattering to measure the voltage-dependent structure. Studies of peripheral protein binding to lipid layers probed the structure-function relationship of membrane proteins that play a fundamental role in cell signaling and trafficking. Graduate and undergraduate students, including underrepresented minorities, were trained in the use of X-ray scattering methods to solve electrochemical problems at the liquid/liquid interface.
