Dynamic surface properties of C60-arginine and C60-L-lysine aqueous solutions

Abstract The surface properties of the solutions of two derivatives of C 60 fullerene with lysine and arginine were investigated by measurements of surface tension, dilational surface rheological properties, characteristics of capillary waves, and by Brewster angle microscopy. It is shown that the adsorption of the derivatives is irreversible and they can form a dynamic network at the interface with almost zero surface pressure and high dynamic surface elasticity, up to ∼100 mN/m. The adsorption layers of C 60 -Lys and C 60 -Arg are characterized by strongly different surface rheological properties and distinct morphologies after an external mechanical perturbation due to different numbers of amino acid residues per C 60 fullerene.