Surface phenomena, electrostatic

Adsorption Surface phenomenon based on electrostatic attraction and repulsion between molecules, useful in separating pollutants from water prior to discharge into a stream, lake, or sea. 

Mechanisms of Leukocyte Adsorption. The exact mechanism of leukocyte adhesion to filter media is not yet fuUy understood. Multiple mechanisms simultaneously contribute to the adhesion of cells to biomaterials, however, physical and biological mechanisms have been distinguished. Physical mechanisms include barrier phenomenon, surface tension, and electrostatic charge biological mechanisms include cell activation and cell to cell binding. 

Desorption of the organic molecules at potentials where is large is due to a phenomenon known in electrostatics In any charged electrostatic capacitor, forces are operative that tend (when this is possible) to replace a medium with a low e value with a medium with a higher s value. Therefore, regardless of any chemical interaction of the organic molecules with the surface, they are expelled electrostatically from the EDL at a certain value of Qs , and replaced by water molecules. 

Some models carry the surface tension approach to extreme, and attempt to include even the electrostatic contributions in the surface tensions. These pure SASA models are obviously limited in their ability to account for such phenomenon as dielectric screening, but they have the virtue of being very easy to compute. Thus, they can be used to augment molecular mechanics calculations on very large molecules with a qualitative accounting for solvation. 

MICELLAR CATALYSIS. Chemical reactions can be accelerated by concentrating reactants on a micelle surface or by creating a favorable interfacial electrostatic environment that increases reactivity. This phenomenon is generally referred to as micellar catalysis. As pointed out by Bunton, the term micellar catalysis is used loosely because enhancement of reactivity may actually result from a change in the equilibrium constant for a reversible reaction. Because catalysis is strictly viewed as an enhancement of rate without change in a reaction s thermodynamic parameters, one must exercise special care to distinguish between kinetic and equilibrium effects. This is particularly warranted when there is evidence of differential interactions of substrate and product with the micelle. Micelles composed of optically active detergent molecules can also display stereochemical action on substrates. ... 

Adsorption is a physical phenomenon in which some components adsorbates) in a fluid (liquid or gas) move to, and accumulate on, the surface of an appropriate solid adsorbent) that is in contact with the fluid. With the use of suitable adsorbents, desired components or contaminants in fluids can be separated. In bioprocesses, the adsorption of a component in a liquid is widely performed by using a variety of adsorbents, including porous charcoal, silica, polysaccharides, and synthetic resins. Such adsorbents of high adsorption capacities usually have very large surface areas per unit volume. The adsorbates in the fluids are adsorbed at the adsorbent surfaces due to van der Waals, electrostatic, biospecific, or other interactions, and thus become separated from the bulk of the fluid. In practice, adsorption can be performed either batchwise in mixing tanks, or continuously in fixed-bed or fluidized-bed adsorbers. In adsorption calculations, both equilibrium relationships and adsorption rates must be considered. 

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