Direct measurement of double-layer, van der Waals, and polymer depletion attraction forces between supported cationic bilayers.

The interactions of supported cationic surfactant bilayers and the effects of nonadsorbing cationic polyelectrolytes on these interactions were studied using the surface forces apparatus (SFA) technique. Bilayers of the cationic surfactant di(tallow ethyl ester) dimethyl ammonium chloride (DEEDMAC) were deposited on mica surfaces using the Langmuir-Blodgett technique, and the interactions between the bilayers were measured in various salt, nonionic polymer (PEG), and cationic polyelectrolyte solutions at different polymer molecular weights and concentrations. The forces between the bilayers in CaCl(2) solution are purely repulsive and follow the DLVO theory quantitatively down to bilayer separations of ∼2 nm. Addition of nonadsorbing polymer or polyelectrolyte has a number of effects on the interactions including the induction of a depletion-attraction between the bilayers and screening of the double-layer repulsion due to the added ions in the solution from the polyelectrolyte. The experimental results are shown to agree well with standard theories of depletion attraction and double-layer screening associated with dissolved polyelectrolyte. We also observed significant time and rate effects on measuring the equilibrium bilayer-bilayer interactions possibly due to the unexpectedly long times (>1 min) associated with the charge regulation of the bilayer surfaces. Implications for the interactions and stability of vesicle dispersions, i.e., of free rather than supported bilayers, in polymer solutions are discussed.