ELECTRON-MICROSCOPIC STUDIES OF MONOLAYERS AT THE AIR-WATER-INTERFACE

The question of artifact formation associated with electron microscopic examination of the structure of monomolecular films was investigated. The effects of mode of film compression, surface energy of solid substrate, and surface roughness of solid substrate onto which fatty acid and phospholipid monolayers were transferred by the Langmuir-Blodgett technique from the air/water interface were systematically examined. Aberrations in monolayer structure can occur when low-energy solid surfaces such as Formvar and collodion are used for monolayer transfer below some specific surface pressure which is slightly different for each solid substrate. The observed structures bear similarity to the observations reported in other studies.