Film formation of ω-aminoalkylcellulose carbamates – A quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) study

• Novel cellulose derivatives showing nanostructuring.
• Film formation of ω-aminoalkylcellulose carbamates was studied by QCM-D and AFM.
• Adsorption onto gold surface takes place in the presence of carbonate or phosphate ions.
• Structure–property-relationships could be concluded from layer formation.
• Film formation is highly dependent on the pH value.

The film formation of novel ω-aminoalkylcellulose carbamates on gold surface was studied by means of quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The influence of the pH value of the buffer solution, the concentration, the degree of polymerization, and the structure (spacer length) of the polymers on the coating was investigated. The layer formation was explained based on the pKa value and the degree of substitution of the ω-aminoalkylcellulose carbamates determined by potentiometric titration. This work provides novel supporting materials that might be applied in field of immobilization of biomolecules.