monocapas

Monocapas, in Spanish, refer to single-layer structures that cover a surface or substrate. The term is used across disciplines to denote a thickness corresponding to one layer of material or cells, and it can be natural or engineered.

In surface science and nanotechnology, monocapas often describe self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), where organic molecules spontaneously organize into a densely packed, single-molecule-thick film on a solid support. They can modify surface energy, chemical functionality, or biocompatibility. The Langmuir-Blodgett technique is another method to transfer a defined single-layer film onto a substrate, enabling controlled thickness and composition at the molecular scale.

In condensed matter and materials research, a monocapa can refer to a monolayer of a two-dimensional material, such as graphene, MoS2, or hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), consisting of a single atomic layer. Monolayers exhibit properties distinct from bulk material and are central to studies of nanoscale electronics, optoelectronics, and sensors.

In biology and medicine, monocapas can refer to epithelial cell layers that line organs and vessels, forming a single sheet of cells. In culture, epithelial monocapas are grown to study barrier function, transport, and drug permeability, serving as in vitro models.

Although the idea is the same—one layer—the scale and implications vary by field, from molecular films and atomic lattices to cellular sheets.