An ellipsometric study of protein adsorption at the saliva-air interface

At the liquid-air interface of human saliva a protein layer is adsorbed. From ellipsometric measurements it was found that the thickness of the surface layer ranged from 400 to 3600 Å and the amount of protein material adsorbed was 9–340 mg/m2. Based on the concentration of protein in the layer the samples could be classified into two groups: a low concentration (ca. 0.15 g/ml) and a high concentration (0.7–1.1 g/ml). In the low concentration group the surface layers appeared to be thin (500–600 Å) while those in the high concentration group appeared to be much thicker (1000–3500 Å). A correlation between the bulk pH and the thickness of the surface layer could be established.