Surface hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity

Lyklema (1995) pointed out that, in the absence of immersion calorimetry, the notion of surface hydrophilicity-hydrophobicity remains vague. Once the molar enthalpy of immersion in water is assessed it can readily be compared with the value 44 kJ molwhich corresponds to the enthalpy of condensation of water at room temperature. If it is higher, the surface is considered to be hydrophilic if lower, the surface is defined as hydrophobic. 

In order to investigate the interaction of different types of cells in terms of the surface hydrophilicity/ hydrophobicity of polymeric materials, Chinese hamster ovaries (CHO), fibroblasts, and bovine aortic endothehal cells (EC) were cultured for 1 and 2 days on the PE wettability chemogradient surfaces. The maximum adhesion and growth of the cells appeared around a water contact angle of 50 to 55°... 

Protein deposition on materials surface is dependent on chemical nature of the surface (hydrophilicity, hydrophobicity, charge density) and also on the size and chemical composition of the proteins exposed to the synthetic surface (2). Since different biological media are composed of rather different types of proteins, materials designed for specific in lant applications must be tested using those proteins most likely encoimtered in vivo. Materials used in contact leiis applications are generally tested for in vitro protein adsorption using an artificial tear fluid (ATF) containing mixtures of proteins and lipids that are commonly found in hximan tear fluid and in contact lens deposits (15, 16). A... 

AFM observations of the BNSH-100 membrane supported the formation of the surface hydrophilic/hydrophobic phase-separated structure derived from the high lEC value and the highly hydrophobic binaphthyl units (Figure 4.42). 

The use of a water-immiscible Hquid to separate coal from impurities is based on the principle that the coal surface is hydrophobic and preferentially wetted by the nonaqueous medium whereas the minerals, being hydrophilic, remain suspended in water. Hence, separation of two phases produces a clean coal containing a small amount of a nonaqueous Hquid, eg, oil, and an aqueous suspension of the refuse. This process is generally referred to as selective agglomeration. 

The hydrophobicity of the gel surface differs depending on the type of gel. In polymer-based series, the GPC KF series has the most hydrophobic gel surface whereas the SB-HQ series has the most hydrophilic gel surface. In order to obtain an ideal GFC separation mode, a suitable column should be chosen whose gel surface has hydrophobicity similar to that of the sample. 

Preparation of polyfethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(arylene ether) based hydrophilic-hydrophobic block copolymer is of special interest because PEO has been proven to be particularly reliable and versatile for the surface modification of biomaterials. The first poly(ediylene oxide)-/ /oc/c-polysulfonc (PEO-fc-PSF) copolymers were reported by Aksenov et al.217 They employed diisocyanate chemistry to link hydroxy-terminated sulfone oligomers and polyfethylene... 

In highly diluted solutions the surfactants are monodispersed and are enriched by hydrophil-hydrophobe-oriented adsorption at the surface. If a certain concentration which is characteristic for each surfactant is exceeded, the surfactant molecules congregate to micelles. The inside of a micelle consists of hydrophobic groups whereas its surface consists of hydrophilic groups. Micelles are dynamic entities that are in equilibrium with their surrounded concentration. If the solution is diluted and remains under the characteristic concentration, micelles dissociate to single molecules. The concentration at which micelle formation starts is called critical micelle concentration (cmc). Its value is characteristic for each surfactant and depends on several parameters [189-191] ... 

Figure 15.12 Detergent molecules can be used to solubilize carbon nanotubes by adsorption onto the surface through hydrophobic interactions and create half-micelle structures with the hydrophilic head groups facing outward into the aqueous environment.

After the cleaning process, other techniques are used to prepare the surface of the substrate for coating. Some techniques include drying, surface etching, and chemical surface preparation. Examples of chemical surface preparation include the formation of an oxide layer or the monolayer assembly of an adhesion promoter on the surface. These processes modify the surface of the substrates so as to facilitate the subsequent deposition process. In surface preparation, frequently, the hydrophilic/hydrophobic character of the surface is controlled to match the coating solution properties. For example, Van Driessche et al.19 reported on improving the wettability of Ni-4at%W tapes... 

Hydrophilic surfaces, 1 584—585 Hydrophilic/tunably hydrophilic/ hydrophobic block copolymers, 20 485-487 Hydrophilite, 5 785t Hydrophobic additives, in paper manufacture, 18 113 Hydrophobic alkoxy silanes, as silylating agents, 22 697... 

In a previous section, the effect of plasma on PVA surface for pervaporation processes was also mentioned. In fact, plasma treatment is a surface-modification method to control the hydrophilicity-hydrophobicity balance of polymer materials in order to optimize their properties in various domains, such as adhesion, biocompatibility and membrane-separation techniques. Non-porous PVA membranes were prepared by the cast-evaporating method and covered with an allyl alcohol or acrylic acid plasma-polymerized layer the effect of plasma treatment on the increase of PVA membrane surface hydrophobicity was checked [37].The allyl alcohol plasma layer was weakly crosslinked, in contrast to the acrylic acid layer. The best results for the dehydration of ethanol were obtained using allyl alcohol treatment. The selectivity of treated membrane (H20 wt% in the pervaporate in the range 83-92 and a water selectivity, aH2o, of 250 at 25 °C) is higher than that of the non-treated one (aH2o = 19) as well as that of the acrylic acid treated membrane (aH2o = 22). 

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