Two-Dimensional DPPC Based Emulsion-like Structures Stabilized by Silica Nanoparticles

We studied the mechanical and structural properties of mixed surface layers composed by 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) and silica nanoparticles (NPs). These layers are obtained by spreading a DPPC Langmuir monolayer on a colloidal silica dispersion. The transfer/incorporation of NPs into the DPPC monolayer, driven by electrostatic interactions, alters the molecular orientation, the mechanisms of domain formation, and consequently the phase behavior of the surface layer during compression. The investigation of these systems by means of complementary techniques (Langmuir trough, fluorescence microscopy, ellipsometry, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)) shows that the incorporated NPs preferentially distribute along the liquid expanded phase of DPPC. The layer assumes the stable and homogeneous bidimensional structure of a two-dimensional (2D) analogue of a Pickering emulsion. In fact, the presence of particles provides a circular shape to the DPPC domains and stabilizes them against growth and coalescence during the monolayer compression.