Abstract

A modified technique of layer-by-layer deposition of bacteriorhodopsin (BR) films is proposed. This method is a combination of the casting and centrifugation method and involves the application of a pure BR film to the substrate, which is covered with a thin layer of sol-gel glass. As a result of using this method we have obtained two-layer film structures based on BR with satisfactory optical quality, which are not destroyed by water and can be used as primary transducers for chemical sensors of aqueous solutions. Surface of the obtained structures сoating the film of pure BR with a thin layer of sol-gel glass leads to the leveling of the film surface and reducing the scattering on its inhomogeneities. The film roughness decreases by an average of 15-20% from 18.5 to 14.0 nm. The maximum height difference decreases by almost 30% - from 290 nm for pure BR films to 205 nm for BR films coated with a sol-gel glass layer. The study of the spectral characteristics of the obtained films showed that the deposition of a layer of sol-gel glass does not affect the characteristic functional and optical properties of BR

Keywords: sol-gel technology, bacteriorhodopsin, film structures, spectral analysis, surface morphology, atomic force microscopy

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