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Adhesion of cultured human endothelial cells onto methacrylate polymers with varying surface wettability and charge.

The adhesion of human endothelial cells (HEC) onto a series of well-characterized methacrylate polymer surfaces with varying wettabilities and surface charges was studied either in serum-containing (CMS) or in serum-free (CM) culture medium. HEC adhesion in CMS onto (co)polymers of hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) was found to be optimal on the moderately wettable copolymer (mol ratio 25 HEMA/75 MMA). Positively-charged copolymers of HEMA or MMA with trimethylaminoethyl methacrylate-HCl salt (TMAEMA-Cl), both with mol ratios of 85/15 and a negatively-charged copolymer of MMA with methacrylic acid (MAA), mol ratio 85/15, showed high numbers of adhering HEC. In CM, HEC adhered onto the three charged copolymers mentioned above, but neither onto the copolymer of HEMA and MAA (mol ratio 85/15) nor onto the HEMA/MMA co- and homopolymers. Complete cell spreading in CM was only observed on the positively-charged copolymers.

Acrylates↗

Wettability of cross-linked collagenous biomaterials: in vitro study.

Collagenous biomaterials can be treated by chemical and physical agents to decrease biodegradation rate. Treatments to collagen may modify surface properties and subsequently cell and platelet behaviour. Collagenous films were either uncross-linked and cross-linked by glutaraldehyde, formaldehyde or cyanamide and/or treated by a severe dehydration. Contact angles, platelet contacting assay and fibroblast morphology were investigated. After severe dehydration, wettability was diminished except for formaldehyde-cross-linked and severely dehydrated films. Glutaraldehyde-cross-linked collagen results in an increase in wettability. Platelets were similarly distributed, except on formaldehyde-cross-linked films that exhibited no platelet aggregation. Fibroblasts were in a spreading phase on most collagenous films. However, cytotoxicity was noticed on some aldehyde-cross-linked films. No direct relationship was found between contact angles and platelet-cell attachment.

Animals↗

Persistent effects of ozone on needle water loss and wettability in Norway spruce.

Four-year-old, seed-grown trees of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) were exposed in open-top chambers to charcoal-filtered air (8 h daily mean 54 microg O(3) m(-3)) over three consecutive summers (1986-1988). In mid-May 1988, before the third season of fumigation and more than 7 months after exposure to ozone the previous summer had terminated, daily rates of transpiration from intact shoots and water loss from excised needles were measured together with the amount of wax on the needle surface. In mid-July, 92 days after the beginning of the third year of exposure, the wettability of needles was assessed by measuring the contact angle of water droplets on the surface of needles. Exposure to 156 microg O(3) m(-3) resulted in a 16% increase in daily transpiration in current year's needles and a 28% increase in 1-year old needles. These effects were associated with slower stomatal closure in response to increasing water deficit in the needles previously exposed to 156 microg m(-3) ozone. The long-lasting nature of such ozone-induced effects could predispose trees to drought and winter desiccation. No significant effects of ozone were found on the amount of wax covering the needle surface, but a marked increase in the wettability of needles exposed to ozone was observed. The far reaching physiological consequences of these effects in the field and the possibility that similar disturbances may contribute to the decline of high-altitude forests of Norway spruce in Europe are discussed.

Journal Article↗

The influence of flotation agent concentration on the wettability and flotability of polystyrene.

The fundamental flotation process is the formation of a flocculant by air bubbles and solid particles in an aqueous solution. The behavior of plastic particles is significantly influenced by the wettability of the plastics. In this article the reciprocal relationship between the flotability and wettability of polystyrene was studied at different concentrations of flotation agents, particularly terpineol, polyethylene glycol dodecyl ether, tannic acid, and calcium lignosulfonate. The conclusions obtained demonstrate the dissimilar action of flotation depressants, what means different adhesion mechanisms on a plastic surface.

Journal Article↗

The wettability of polytetrafluoroethylene and polymethyl methacrylate by aqueous solution of two cationic surfactants mixture.

Advancing contact angle (theta) measurements were carried out for aqueous solutions of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and cetylpyridinium bromide (CPyB) mixtures on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The obtained results indicate that the wettability of PTFE and PMMA by aqueous solutions of CTAB and CPyB mixtures depends on the composition and concentration of the mixture; however, synergism in the wettability does not exist. In the range of low concentrations of aqueous solution mixtures there is a linear dependence between the contact angle and composition of the mixtures, but at a concentration close to CMC a deviation from linear dependence is observed. In contrast to Zisman, there is no linear dependence between costheta and the surface tension of aqueous solution of CTAB and CPyB mixtures, but a linear dependence exists between the adhesional and surface tension, and these lines have a slope -1 and -0.34 for PTFE and PMMA, respectively, which suggests that adsorption of CTAB and CPyB mixtures at water-air and PTFE-water is the same, and the orientation of the CTAB and CPyB molecules at both interfaces in the saturated monolayer should also be the same. Adsorption of these mixtures at water-air interface is considerably higher than at PMMA-water interface, and CTAB and CPyB molecules should be parallelly oriented to PMMA surface in the saturated monolayer. Extrapolation of the straight lines to the points corresponding to the surface tension of aqueous solution, which completely spreads over the PTFE and PMMA surface, gives a critical surface tension of wetting equal to 23.44 and 33.13 mN/m, respectively. The value of 23.44 mN/m is higher than that of the surface tension of PTFE, but the value of 33.13 is lower than that of Lifshitz-van der Waals components of PMMA surface tension. On the basis of the critical surface tension, the surface tension of PTFE and PMMA, the Young equation, and thermodynamic analysis of the adhesion work of aqueous solution of surfactant to polymer surface, it was found that for PTFE and PMMA the changes of the contact angle of aqueous solution of two cationic surfactants mixtures on their surfaces as a function of the solution concentration resulted only from the decrease of the polar component of the solution surface tension.

Journal Article↗

Existence of fluid layers in the corners of a capillary with non-uniform wettability.

Based on free energy variation we derive the criterion for displacement during water invasion of oil layers, sandwiched between water in corners and in the centre of a capillary with partly altered wettability. This displacement may arise in combination with a piston-like displacement in which the layers are formed, or, alternatively, these two displacements do not occur and a single piston-like displacement arises removing all oil from the pore cross-section at once. The free energy differentials associated with the three displacements determine exactly which displacement(s) happen during water invasion. Depending on the area and the (advancing) contact angle on the surface of altered wettability, as well as on the half-angles of the pore corners, layers may or may not exist. We compare the criterion for the displacement of oil layers with the existing geometrical criterion. The latter always allows a larger range of contact angles and pressure combination for which layers may exist than the presently derived criterion, hence the geometrical criterion is insufficient and is now superceded.

Journal Article↗

The wettability of polytetrafluoroethylene by aqueous solution of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and Triton X-100 mixtures.

Measurements of the advancing contact angle (theta) were carried out for aqueous solution of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and p-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl) phenoxypoly(ethylene glycol), Triton X-100 (TX100) mixtures on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The obtained results indicate that the wettability of PTFE depends on the concentration and composition of the surfactants mixture. There is a minimum of the dependence between contact angle and composition of the mixtures for PTFE for each concentration at a monomer mole fraction of CTAB, alpha, equal 0.2, which points to the synergism in the wettability of PTFE. In contrast to Zisman, there is no linear dependence between costheta and the surface tension of aqueous solution of CTAB and TX100 mixtures for all studied systems, but a linear dependence exists between the adhesional tension and surface tension for PTFE in the whole concentration range, the slope of which is -1, that suggests that the surface excess of the surfactant concentration at the PTFE-solution interface is the same as that at the solution-air interface for a given bulk concentration. It was also found that the work of adhesion of aqueous solution of surfactants to PTFE surface did not depend on the type of surfactant and its concentration. It means that the interactions across PTFE-solution interface were constant for the systems studied, and they were largely Lifshitz-van de Waals type. On the basis of the surface tension of PTFE and the Young equation and thermodynamic analysis of the adhesion work of aqueous solution of surfactant to the polymer surface it was found that in the case of PTFE the changes of the contact angle as a function of the mixture of nonionic and cationic surfactants concentration resulted only from changes of the polar component of solution surface tension.

Journal Article↗

Water absorption kinetics in different wettability conditions studied at pore and sample scales in porous media by NMR with portable single-sided and laboratory imaging devices.

NMR relaxation time distributions of water (1)H obtained by a portable single-sided surface device have been compared with MRI internal images obtained with a laboratory imaging apparatus on the same biocalcarenite (Lecce Stone) samples during capillary water uptake. The aim of this work was to check the ability of NMR methods to quantitatively follow the absorption phenomenon under different wettability conditions of the internal pore surfaces. Stone wettability changes were obtained by capillary absorption of a chloroform solution of Paraloid PB72, a hydrophobic acrylic resin frequently used to protect monuments and buildings, through one face of each sample. Both relaxation and imaging data have been found in good quantitative agreement each other and with masses of water determined by weighing the samples. In particular the Washburn model of water capillary rise applied to the imaging data allowed us to quantify the sorptivity in both treated and untreated samples. Combining relaxation and imaging data, a synergetic improvement of our understanding of the water absorption kinetics at both pore and sample scales is obtained. Since relaxation data have been taken over the course of time without interrupting the absorption process, simply by keeping the portable device on the surface opposite to the absorption, the results show that the single-sided NMR technique is a powerful tool for in situ evaluation of water-repellent treatments frequently used for consolidation and/or protection of stone artifacts.

Journal Article↗

Surface roughness, porosity and wettability of gentamicin-loaded bone cements and their antibiotic release.

In this study, the release of gentamicin as a function of time was measured for six different gentamicin-loaded bone cements and related with the surface roughness, porosity and wettability of the cements. Initial release rates varied little between the six bone cements (CMW1, CMW3, CMW Endurance, CMW 2000, Palacos, and Palamed) and ranged from 8.6 to 14.1 microg/cm2/h. The total amounts of gentamicin released after 1 week varied between 4.0 and 5.3% of the total amount of antibiotic incorporated for the CMW cements and was 8.4% for Palacos. Palamed released after 1 week significantly more of the gentamicin incorporated (17.0%). The wettability of all cements was similar (water contact angles between 70 and 80 degrees), but the surface roughness and the porosity of the cements varied markedly. Initial release rates increased with surface roughness, although the correlation coefficient was low (0.64), while total amounts released increased linearly (correlation coefficient 0.97) with the bulk porosity of the cements. Consequently, it can be concluded that the release kinetics of gentamicin from bone cements is controlled by a combination of surface roughness and porosity.

Bone Cements↗

Effect of veneer side wettability on bonding quality of Eucalyptus globulus plywoods prepared using a tannin-phenol-formaldehyde adhesive.

The influence of rotary peeling on the different behaviour of tight and loose sides of Eucalyptus globulus veneers has been studied. The presence of lathe checks on the loose sides favours wettability, the contact angle decreasing more rapidly on these sides than on tight sides. Additionally, pine bark tannins improved wettability due to their surfactant character. Bonding quality tests carried out on plywoods prepared using a tannin-phenol-formaldehyde adhesive showed that fracture almost invariably occurred in a glue line with at least one loose side, where wood failure appeared. This behaviour, confirmed by analysing the glue lines by means of fluorescence microscopy, was due to the large surface alterations of the loose sides which reduced mechanical strength but allowed greater penetration of the adhesive giving rise to high wood failure.

Adhesives↗

Influence of wettability and saturation on liquid-liquid interfacial area in porous media.

The knowledge of the area of interfaces between phases is important to understand and quantify many flow and transport processes in porous media. In this work, we apply the interfacial tracer technique to study the dependence of fluid-fluid interfacial area on saturation and wettability. The interfacial area between the wetting and the nonwetting phases (brine and decane) in unconsolidated porous media (glass beads) was measured using an anionic surfactant (3-phenyl decyl benzene sulfonate) as an interfacial tracer. The beads are water-wet; treating them with organosilane rendered them oil-wet. The measurements were done at a series of steady-state fractional flows, providing data at intermediate as well as residual saturations. Flow rates were kept low so that capillary forces controlled the fluid configurations. We observe significant differences in interfacial areas as a function of wetting-phase saturation as the wettability is changed from water-wet to oil-wet. During primary drainage, measured interfacial area increases monotonically with decreasing water saturation in a water-wet medium. In contrast, the interfacial area measured in the oil-wet porous medium increases with decreasing decane saturation, reaches a maximum, and decreases as the residual decane saturation is achieved. The oil-wet experiment is qualitatively consistent with theoretical results that predict the existence of a maximum in fluid-fluid interfacial area during drainage. The water-wet experiment is consistent with theoretical predictions that include the area of grains in pores that have been drained. We conclude that, in the water-wet experiments, the tracer adsorbs at the interface between the nonwetting phase and the wetting films on grains. In the oil-wet experiments, either the oil films are not sustained at high water saturation or the tracer does not adsorb at them, possibly prevented by steric hindrance. Interpretation of interfacial tracer experiments therefore requires care: for some mass transport processes, the thin films of wetting phase on grains will not behave the same as macroscopic volumes of wetting phase.

Chemical Phenomena↗

Preparation of silica-on-titania patterns with a wettability contrast.

The preparation of patterned inorganic surfaces consisting of silica (SiO2) and titania (TiO2) is described. The approach is based on a combination of standard photolithography and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Silicon wafers coated with a titania layer (40 nm) were patterned by use of a positive photoresist and then a thin silica layer (10-40 nm) was plasma-deposited. The photoresist was removed by decomposition at 800 degrees C. The inorganic patterned surfaces possessed excellent high-temperature resistance. Since the silica patches were effectively dehydroxylated during the thermal treatment, the patterns consisted of moderately hydrophobic (silica) and hydrophilic (titania) domains with a significant wettability contrast (40 degrees for water). The surface was further hydrophobized with a self-assembled monolayer of fluoroalkylsilane (FAS) and exposed to UV light. The FAS layer was locally oxidized on the TiO2 patches and the wettability contrast was maximized to 120 degrees (the highest possible value on smooth surfaces).

Journal Article↗

Compression of Langmuir films composed of fine particles: collapse mechanism and wettability.

The collapse mechanism of microparticulate Langmuir films was studied experimentally in the present work. Using a Wilhelmy film balance, surface pressure vs area isotherms were determined, and the particle removal during the compression was examined by video-microscope and by naked eye. Upon compressing partially wettable 75 microm diameter surface modified glass beads at liquid (water or aqueous surfactant solution)-air (or n-octane) interfaces, different collapse mechanisms were visualized depending on the wettability of the particles. At low contact angles (below 40 degrees ) irreversible particle removal was observed as a consequence of a particulate line-by-line collapse mechanism. At higher contact angles a buckling-type collapse mechanism was revealed without particle removal from the liquid interface. In the case of irreversible particle removal we assessed the contact angles from the nondissipative part of the isotherm. These values were found to be in reasonable agreement with those determined directly on the beads.

Journal Article↗

Modification of the wettability of a polymeric substrate by pH effect. Determination of the surface acid dissociation constant by contact angle measurements.

The wetting properties of a substrate can be changed by chemical reaction. Here, we studied simple materials with acid-base properties, by preparing poly(vinyl chloride) films containing lauric acid. These substrates constitute simple polymeric surfaces the wettability of which can be easily controlled by the acid-base equilibrium. The roughness of the material was then varied by adding Aerosil (hydrophobic fumed silica). We then studied the wettability of these materials toward aqueous buffer solutions between pH 2 and 12 from contact angle measurements. The variation of the contact angle of a droplet of buffer solution with the pH of the solution was described by a simple thermodynamic model requiring only two parameters. Thus, we could characterize the acid polymer by an effective surface acid dissociation constant the value of which was consistent with those obtained with a similar surface. We showed that the behavior of any substrate could be described even if the surface geometry was not well-known.

Journal Article↗

Anchoring of a nematic liquid crystal on a wettability gradient.

We have studied the anchoring of the nematic liquid crystal 5CB (4'-n-pentyl-4-cyanobiphenyl) as a function of the surface wettability, thickness of the liquid crystal layer, and temperature by measuring the birefringence of a hybrid aligned nematic cell where the nematic material was confined between octadecyltriethoxysilane-treated glass surfaces, with one surface linearly varying in its hydrophobicity. A homeotropic-to-tilted anchoring transition was observed as a function of the lateral distance along the hydrophobicity gradient, typically in a region corresponding to a water contact angle of approximately 64 degrees. The effect of the nematic layer thickness was measured simultaneously by preparing a wedge cell where the thickness varied along the direction perpendicular to the wettability. The detailed behavior of the onset of birefringence was found to be consistent with a dual-easy-axis model that predicts a discontinuous anchoring transition from homeotropic to planar. The anchoring was independent of temperature, except within 1 degrees C of the nematic-to-isotropic transition temperature (T(NI)). As the temperature approached T(NI), the tendency for planar anchoring gradually increased relative to that for homeotropic anchoring.

Journal Article↗

Preparation of spray-dried wettable powder formulations of Bacillus thuringiensis-based biopesticides.

Bacillus thuringiensis is the most widely used biopesticide among many methods available to control insects. To make a saleable product, B. thuringiensis must be substantially concentrated by removal of water and formulated to improve longevity, efficacy, and ease of transport of the product. B. thuringiensis subsp. aizawai culture broth as an active ingredient was mixed with various adjuvants and then spray dried. The optimum conditions for spray drying were found to be an outlet temperature of 60-85 degrees C and an inlet temperature of 120-180 degrees C. Various adjuvants had different effects on physical and biological properties of the dried product. Gelatinized tapioca starch and milk powder improved suspensibility but adversely affected wettability of the dried formulated product. Vegetable oil and Tween 20 enhanced wettability but resulted in poor suspensibility. Silica fume was used to enhance flowability because it reduced clumping and caking of the powder resulting from the addition of vegetable oil. Formulation containing 10% wt:wt B. thuringiensis, 10% wt:wt gelatinized tapioca starch, 10% wt:wt sucrose, 38% wt:wt tapioca starch, 20% wt:wt milk powder, 10% wt:wt silica fume, 2% wt:wt polyvinyl alcohol, 5% vol:vol Tween 20, 1% vol:vol refined rice bran oil, and 1% vol:vol antifoam solution was found to be optimum in terms of the physical and biological properties of the dried product. This formulation had 55% suspensibility, 24 s for wetting time, and 5.69 x 10(4) CFU/ml of LC50 value against Spodoptera exigua larvae.

Agrochemicals↗

Parameter and environmental influences on rigid contact lens wettability.

The present investigation was designed to determine the effect of lens parameters and lens environment on measurements of contact angle. The sessile drop contact angle of saline on four rigid [polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and silicone/acrylate] contact lens materials was examined with a Ramé-Hart goniometer to determine how front surface radius, drop size, time after drop placement, humidity, and desiccation affect measurements of lens wettability in vitro. Contact angles of Silafocon A and PMMA were relatively uninfluenced by front surface radii between 7.7 and 8.85 and 7.3 to 8.8 mm, respectively. Contact angles of Pasifocon C and modified PMMA were slightly but significantly influenced by front surface radii between 6.4 and 7.5 mm. For drop volumes from 2 to 20 microliter, all materials yielded contact angles, which were unaffected by drop size. The contact angle of lenses stored in the hydrated or dehydrated state was not affected by chamber humidity between 31 and 76%. In the ranges tested, drop size, humidity, and hydration had no significant effect on the contact angle within 1 to 6 min after drop placement. In addition, surface scratches had no effect on lens wettability. The results suggest that goniometry on contact lens surfaces, for the most part, is uninfluenced by lens parameters and environmental conditions.

Chemical Phenomena↗

Measurement of wettability of the corneal epithelium. I. Particle attachment method.

Surface wettability of the adult rabbit cornea, as indicated by the epithelium/air surface tension, was estimated from the attachment of particles of several different types from suspension in dimethyl sulphoxide-saline bathing solutions. The mean surface tension of corneas where mucus had been removed by rinsing with N-acetyl cysteine was 67.5 +/- 0.6 mN/m, and for corneas retaining their native covering of mucus was 68.3 +/- 0.8 mN/m. Thus the wettability of the normal cornea does not depend on the presence of mucus to overcome its previously-supposed hydrophobicity. Removal of mucus by wiping gave a damaged surface for which no surface tension could be determined within the range of solution surface tensions studied.

Acetylcysteine↗