Adsorption of polyethyleneimine characterized by spectroscopic ellipsometry

Polyethyleneimine (PEI) is a well known gene transfection reagent that has been extensively studied in the pass two decades. In this work, we have explored its physiochemical properties by examining its interfacial adsorption at the hydrophilic silicon oxide/water interface and its ability to immobilize bioactive DNA under physiological conditions. Its surface excess was found to show a gradual increase with pH between pH 3 and pH 10. At pH 7 the surface adsorbed amount increased with increasing salt concentration. The amount of DNA immobilized was found to be controlled by the charge ratio between PEI and DNA under these conditions. Thus, the amount of bioactive DNA immobilized can be tuned by adjusting the amount of PEI preadsorbed. This study provides useful information for fabrication of biosensors and gene chips via interfacial adsorption.