THE DESIGN AND SYNTHESIS OF SIMPLE MOLECULAR TETHERS FOR BINDING BIOMEMBRANES TO A GOLD SURFACE

Abstract Molecular tethers have been synthesised for fixing biomembranes to a gold surface. These are comprised of a thiol at one end to bind to the gold, a polyethylenoxy chain of defined length (two, six or twelve ethylenoxy units) in the middle and a cholesteryl residue at the other end to insert into the biomembrane.