Langmuir and Langmuir-Blodgett Troughs

KSV-NIMA Langmuir and Langmuir-Blodgett troughs are used to create and characterise single molecule thick films and offer precision control over the lateral packing density of molecules. Monolayers can be transferred using a Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) deposition technique. This enables the creation of single and multi-layer films with precise control of thickness, molecular orientation and packing density.

Applications:

Biomembranes (e.g protein and ion interactions)
Interfacial shear rheology of thin films
Functional coatings (e.g nanotubes, nanowires, graphene)
Surfactant formulation (e.g polymerisation, enzyme-substrate reactions)
Nanoparticles (e.g surfactant and colloid stability)

Benefits:

Open design enables easy placement of trough tops into the frame
Complete control and real time display of results including surface pressure, temperature, pH, surface potential and more
Unique design prevents any leakage and avoids potential for contaminants from glue or seals.
Thin frame design allows simultaneous use of optical characterisation techniques such as PM-IRRAS, Brewster angle microscopy, fluorescence microscopy and many others.
Powerful and intuitive software

Ribbon Barrier for Langmuir Trough

The Ribbon Barrier Trough allows compression to a higher surface pressure than with conventional Langmuir and Langmuir-Blodgett Troughs. The use of a ribbon instead of a set of barriers enables a better monolayer confinement and ultimately higher packing densities, opening the way to new applications.

The KSV Ribbon Barrier Trough can be used as Langmuir Trough or as Langmuir-Blodgett Deposition Trough.

In its Langmuir configuration, the Ribbon Barrier Trough enables the study of floating monolayers at high packing densities (e.g. > 70 mN/m for DPPC). Such high surface pressures are required to study phenomena such as lung surfactant (DPPC) behavior in alveoli.
In its Langmuir-Blodgett or Langmuir-Schaefer configuration, the Ribbon Barrier Trough can be used to deposit monolayers at high packing densities onto solid samples. Deposition enables further characterisation of the film with complementary techniques such as QCM-D and AFM.

The graph below shows the surface pressure – area isotherms of a DPPC monolayer obtained with a conventional Langmuir Trough Medium (light blue) and with the Langmuir Ribbon Barrier Trough (dark blue).

The difference in the maximum surface pressure observed between the two curves demonstrates the ability of the Ribbon Barrier to compress (and maintain) monolayers at higher packing densities.

Compatibility with existing KSV LB Troughs

The Ribbon Barrier Trough which includes the compression mechanism is an option for the standard KSV Langmuir or Langmuir-Blodgett Deposition systems. This means that any existing KSV Langmuir and Langmuir-Blodgett Deposition system can be converted into a Ribbon Barrier Trough (and vice versa) by simply exchanging the Trough top.