Synthesis, characterization and surface analysis using dynamic contact angle measurements of graft copolymers: poly(methyl methacrylate)-g-poly(dimethylsiloxane) and poly(methyl methacrylate)-g-poly(trifluoropropylmethylsiloxane)

Contact angle measurements are important to determine surface and interfacial tension between solids and fluids. A ‘water-wet’ condition on the rock face is necessary in order to extract oil. In this research, the objectives are to determine the wettability (water-wet or oil-wet), analyze how different brine concentrations will affect the wettability, and study the effect of the temperature on the dynamic contact angle measurements. This will be carried out by using the Cahn Dynamic Contact Angle. Analyzer DCA 315 to measure the contact angle between different fluids such as surfactant, alkaline, and mineral oil. This instrument is also used to measure the surface properties such as surface tension, contact angle, and interfacial tension of solid and liquid samples by using the Wilhelmy technique. The work used different surfactant and oil mixed with different alkaline concentrations. Varying alkaline concentrations from 20ml to 1ml were used, whilst keeping the surfactant concentration constant at 50ml.. It was observed that contact angle measurements and surface tension increase with increased alkaline concentrations. Therefore, we can deduce that they are directly proportional. We noticed that changing certain values on the software affected our results. It was found that after calculating the density and inputting it into the CAHN software, more accurate readings for the surface tension were obtained. We anticipate that the surfactant and alkaline can change the surface tension of the solid surface. In our research, surfactant is desirable as it maintains a high surface tension even when alkaline percentage is increased.

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Cell Morphology on Poly(methyl methacrylate) Microstructures as Function of Surface Energy

International Journal of Biomaterials ◽

10.1155/2019/2393481 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

Matthias Katschnig ◽

Boris Maroh ◽

Natascha Andraschek ◽

Sandra Schlögl ◽

Ulrike Zefferer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Contact Angle ◽

Cell Adhesion ◽

Surface Energy ◽

Methyl Methacrylate ◽

Cell Elongation ◽

Cell Phenotype ◽

Critical Surface ◽

Poly Methyl Methacrylate ◽

Angle Measurements ◽

Contact Angle Measurements

Whilst the significance of substrate topography as a regulator of cell function is well established, a systematic analysis of the principles underlying this is still unavailable. Here we evaluate the hypothesis that surface energy plays a decisive role in substrate-mediated modulation of cell phenotype by evaluation of cell behaviour on synthetic microstructures exhibiting pronounced differences in surface energy. These microstructures, specifically cubes and walls, were fabricated from a biocompatible base polymer, poly(methyl methacrylate), by variotherm injection molding. The dimensions of the cubes were 1 μm x 1 μm x 1 μm (height x width x length) with a periodicity of 1:1 and 1:5 and the dimensions of the walls 1 μm x 1 μm x 15 mm (height x width x length) with a periodicity of 1:1 and 1:5. Mold inserts were made by lithography and electroplating. The surface energy of the resultant microstructures was determined by static contact angle measurements. Light scanning microscopy of the morphology of NT2/D1 and MC3T3-E1 preosteoblast cells cultured on structured PMMA samples in both cases revealed a profound surface energy dependence. “Walls” appeared to promote significant cell elongation, whilst a lack of cell adhesion was observed on “cubes” with the lowest periodicity. Contact angle measurements on walls revealed enhanced surface energy anisotropy (55 mN/m max., 10 mN/m min.) causing a lengthwise spreading of the test liquid droplet, similar to cell elongation. Surface energy measurements for cubes revealed increased isotropic hydrophobicity (87° max., H2O). A critical water contact angle of ≤ 80° appears to be necessary for adequate cell adhesion. A “switch” for cell adhesion and subsequently cell growth could therefore be applied by, for example, adjusting the periodicity of hydrophobic structures. In summary cell elongation on walls and a critical surface energy level for cell adhesion could be produced for NT2/D1 and MC3T3-E1 cells by symmetrical and asymmetrical energy barrier levels. We, furthermore, propose a water-drop model providing a common physicochemical cause regarding similar cell/droplet geometries and cell adhesion on the investigated microstructures.

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