Using X-PEEM to study biomaterials: Protein and peptide adsorption to a polystyrene–poly(methyl methacrylate)-b-polyacrylic acid blend

Recent synchrotron-based soft X-ray photoemission electron microscopy (X-PEEM) studies of protein and peptide interaction with phase segregated and patterned polymer surfaces in the context of optimization of candidate biomaterials are reviewed and a study of a new system is reported. X-PEEM and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to investigate the morphology of a phase-segregated thin film of a polystyrene/poly(methyl methacrylate)-b-polyacrylic acid (PS/PMMA-PAA) blend, and its interactions with negatively charged human serum albumin (HSA) and positively charged SUB-6 (a cationic antimicrobial peptide, RWWKIWVIRWWR-NH2) at several pHs. At neutral pH, where the polymer surface is partially negatively charged, HSA and SUB-6 peptide showed contrasting adsorption behavior which is interpreted in terms of differences in their electrostatic interactions with the polymer surface.