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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2010 Nov 1.
Published in final edited form as: Biomaterials. 2009 Sep 13;30(33):6495–6513. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2009.08.016

Figure 6.

Figure 6

Graphical illustration of the volumetric interpretation of single-protein adsorption (top panel group) and binary-adsorption competition between i, j proteins for the same hydrophobic adsorbent (bottom panel group). Essential steps depicted in both cases are: (Panel A) instantaneous creation of a thin interface between adsorbent (Physical Surface) and protein solution (Bulk Solution); (Panel B) rapid diffusion of proteins from solution into an inflating interphase region with concomitant displacement of interphase water; (Panel C) reorganization and concentration of protein within an interphase that is shrinking by expulsion of either interphase water (top panel group) or both interphase water and initially-adsorbed protein (bottom panel group); and (Panel D) attainment of steady-state interphase protein concentration by entrapment of initially-adsorbed protein in a minimal volume interphase (see Section 4.1 for detailed discussion).