Conductance across a metal|molecule|metal junction is strongly influenced by the molecule–substrate contacts, and for a given molecular structure, multiple conductance values are frequently observed and ascribed to distinct binding modes of the contact at each of the molecular termini. Conjugated molecules containing a trimethylsilylethynyl terminus, –CCSiMe₃ give exclusively a single conductance value in I(s) measurements on gold substrates, the value of which is similar to that observed for the same molecular backbone with thiol and amine based contacting groups when bound to under-coordinated surface sites.

The study of Langmuir monolayers incorporating biomimetic and bioactive substances plays an important role today in assessing the properties and quality of the molecular films for potential biomedical applications. Here, miscibility of binary and ternary monolayers of phospholipid (dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine, DOPC), immunosuppressant (cyclosporine A, CsA), and antioxidant (lauryl gallate, LG) of varying molar fractions was analyzed by means of the Langmuir technique coupled with a surface potential (ΔV) module at the air–water interface. The surface pressure–area per molecule (π–A) isotherms provided information on the physical state of the films at a given surface pressure, the monolayer packing and ordering, and the type and strength of intermolecular interactions. Surface potential–area (ΔV–A) isotherms revealed the molecular orientation changes at the interface upon compression. In addition, the apparent dipole moment of the monolayer-forming molecules was determined from the surface potential isotherms. The obtained results indicated that the film compression provoked subsequent changes of CsA conformation and/or orientation, conferring better affinity for the hydrocarbon environment. The mutual interactions between the components were analyzed here in terms of the excess and total Gibbs energy of mixing, whose values depended on the stoichiometry of the mixed films. The strongest attraction, thus the highest thermodynamic stability, was found for a DOPC–CsA–LG mixture with a 1:1:2 molar ratio. Based on these results, a molecular model for the organization of the molecules within the Langmuir film was proposed. Through this model, we elucidated the significant role of LG in improving the miscibility of CsA in the model DOPC membrane and thus in increasing the stability of self-assembled monolayers by noncovalent interactions, such as H-bonds and Lifshitz–van der Waals forces. The above 1:1:2 combination of three components is revealed as the most promising film composition for the modification of implant device surfaces to improve their biocompatibility. Further insight into mechanisms concerning drug–membrane interactions at the molecular level is provided, which results in great importance for biocoating design and development as well as for drug release at target sites.

The compounds and complexes 1,4‐C₆H₄(C≡C‐cyclo‐3‐C₄H₃S)₂ (2), trans‐[Pt(C≡C‐cyclo‐3‐C₄H₃S)₂(PEt₃)₂] (3), trans‐[Ru(C≡C‐cyclo‐3‐C₄H₃S)₂(dppe)₂] (4; dppe=1,2‐bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane) and trans‐[Ru(C≡C‐cyclo‐3‐C₄H₃S)₂{P(OEt)₃}₄] (5) featuring the 3‐thienyl moiety as a surface contacting group for gold electrodes have been prepared, crystallographically characterised in the case of 3–5 and studied in metal|molecule|metal junctions by using both scanning tunnelling microscope break‐junction (STM‐BJ) and STM‐I(s) methods (measuring the tunnelling current (I) as a function of distance (s)). The compounds exhibit similar conductance profiles, with a low conductance feature being more readily identified by STM‐I(s) methods, and a higher feature by the STM‐BJ method. The lower conductance feature was further characterised by analysis using an unsupervised, automated multi‐parameter vector classification (MPVC) of the conductance traces. The combination of similarly structured HOMOs and non‐resonant tunnelling mechanism accounts for the remarkably similar conductance values across the chemically distinct members of the family 2–5.

Electrical conductance across a molecular junction is strongly determined by the anchoring group of the molecule. Here we highlight the unusual behavior of 1,4-bis(1H-pyrazol-4-ylethynyl)benzene that exhibits unconventional junction current versus junction-stretching distance curves, which are peak-shaped and feature two conducting states of 2.3 × 10^–4 G₀ and 3.4 × 10^–4 G₀. A combination of theory and experiments is used to understand the conductance of single-molecule junctions featuring this new anchoring group, i.e., pyrazolyl. These results demonstrate that the pyrazolyl moiety changes its protonation state and contact binding during junction evolution and that it also binds in either end-on or facial geometries with gold contacts. The pyrazolyl moiety holds general interest as a contacting group, because this linkage leads to a strong double anchoring of the molecule to the gold electrode, resulting in enhanced conductance values.