Chemical Curiosity on Campus: An Undergraduate Project on the Structure and Wettability of Natural Surfaces

Katselas, Anthony; Motion, Alice; O’Reilly, Chiara; Neto, Chiara

doi:10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00324

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…For the contact angle measurement, a 10 μL water droplet was put on the surface of the sample and the contact angle of two positions of the droplet was measured at least five times and the average of the total measurements was considered as the contact angle for each sample. Similar undergraduate experiments have been reported in literature that explore the wettability and surface characteristics of physically or chemically modified substrates. , An alternative method that can be used to measure the contact angle is by using a smartphone . With this method, a 10 μL water droplet would be put on the surface of the sample and a mounted smartphone camera would zoom in and take a picture of the droplet.…”

Section: Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 65%

“…Similar undergraduate experiments have been reported in literature that explore the wettability and surface characteristics of physically or chemically modified substrates. 40,41 An alternative method that can be used to measure the contact angle is by using a smartphone. 42 With this method, a 10 μL water droplet would be put on the surface of the sample and a mounted smartphone camera would zoom in and take a picture of the droplet.…”

Section: Surface Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Multidisciplinary Experiment to Characterize Antifouling Biocompatible Interfaces via Quantification of Surface Protein Adsorption

et al. 2022

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Novel biomaterial development is a rapidly growing field that is crucial because biomaterial fouling, due to rapid and irreversible protein adsorption, leads to cellular responses and potentially detrimental consequences such as surface thrombosis, biofilm formation, or inflammation. Therefore, biomaterial technology's fundamentals, like material biocompatibility, are critical in undergraduate education. Exposing undergraduate students to biomaterials and biomedical engineering through interdisciplinary experiments allows them to integrate knowledge from different fields to analyze multidisciplinary results. In this practical laboratory experiment, undergraduate students will characterize surface properties (contact and sliding angle measurements) for the antifouling polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer using a goniometer and a smartphone, as well as quantify protein adsorption on antifouling surfaces via a colorimetric assay kit to develop their understanding of antifouling surface characteristics, UV−vis spectroscopy, and colorimetric assays. The antifouling PDMS polymer is prepared by silicone oil infusion and compared to untreated control PDMS. The polymer hydrophobicity was demonstrated by static water contact angles of ∼99°and 102°for control and antifouling PDMS surfaces, respectively. The control PDMS sliding angle (>90°) was significantly reduced to 9°after antifouling preparation. After 24 h incubation of polymer samples in a 200 mg/mL bovine serum albumin (BSA) solution, the surface adsorbed BSA was quantified using a colorimetric assay. The adsorbed protein on the fouling PDMS controls (29.1 ± 7.0 μg/cm 2 ) was reduced by ∼79% on the antifouling PDMS surface (6.2 ± 0.9 μg/cm 2 ). Students will gain experience in materials science, biomedical engineering, chemistry, and biology concepts and better understand the influence of material properties on biological responses for biomaterial interfaces.

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Section: Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 65%

Section: Surface Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Multidisciplinary Experiment to Characterize Antifouling Biocompatible Interfaces via Quantification of Surface Protein Adsorption

et al. 2022

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“…28,29,38,39,30−37 Experiments that allow students to investigate the wettability of naturally low energy surfaces, such as the lotus leaf, have been designed. 28,29 These demonstrate the effects of surface texturation and illustrate the role of epicuticular waxes in modifying the surface chemistry. Other experiments have used replica molding to allow students to create biomimetic, superhydrophobic surfaces using naturally textured surfaces as templates.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 81%

Thermodynamics of Wettability: A Physical Chemistry Laboratory Experiment

et al. 2022

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In this laboratory experiment, students modify a series of surfaces and explore the effects of varying surface chemistry and texture on wettability by different probe liquids. Students begin by building a simple contact angle goniometer utilizing their mobile phone cameras. Next, they contrast the wettability of planar glass substrates functionalized with alkyl silanes and fluorinated alkyl silanes and calculate surface free energies using Owens/Wendt plots. Subsequently, they synthesize ZnO tetrapods as robust textural elements and spray deposit the tetrapods onto stainless steel meshes to develop hierarchical texturation, which upon subsequent surface functionalization yields superhydrophobic and oleophobic surfaces. The series of experiments allow them to investigate the manner in which textured surfaces deviate from Young's equation and provide a vivid illustration of the thermodynamics of surface wettability. The laboratory exercise further provides a striking visual analogy for illustrating free energy landscapes and serves as a tangible means to demonstrate the role of surface chemistry with regards to the midstream oiltransportation infrastructure.

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“…These images can be analyzed using the open-source ImageJ software in order to measure the contact angle. 26,27…”

Section: Contact Angle Goniometrymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If a similar instrument is not available, images of the droplet on the substrate can be taken with the help of any camera. These images can be analyzed using the open-source ImageJ software in order to measure the contact angle. , …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Undergraduate Project on the Assembly of Langmuir–Blodgett Films of Colloidal Particles

et al. 2022

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We present a simple undergraduate level experiment dealing with the preparation and characterization of a colloidal Langmuir−Blodgett (LB) film. The experiment is designed to invoke an interdisciplinary understanding of colloid chemistry and surface science. It will allow the students to develop the concepts of wettability, hydrophobicity, and surface structuring with colloidal nano-and microparticles. In this experiment, the student prepares an LB film of submicron colloidal particles on a well-cleaned glass slide. The contact angle, surface morphology, and packing efficiency of the LB film are later characterized by a goniometer and an optical microscope. The students learn a very useful method of making colloidal LB films and further understanding their surface properties. It will help to broaden their knowledge in chemistry and materials science.

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Chemical Curiosity on Campus: An Undergraduate Project on the Structure and Wettability of Natural Surfaces

Cited by 7 publications

References 24 publications

A Multidisciplinary Experiment to Characterize Antifouling Biocompatible Interfaces via Quantification of Surface Protein Adsorption

A Multidisciplinary Experiment to Characterize Antifouling Biocompatible Interfaces via Quantification of Surface Protein Adsorption

Thermodynamics of Wettability: A Physical Chemistry Laboratory Experiment

An Undergraduate Project on the Assembly of Langmuir–Blodgett Films of Colloidal Particles

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