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Related Concept Videos

Adhesion01:14

Adhesion

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Adhesion occurs when one type of molecule is attracted to a different molecule. Water exhibits adhesive properties in the presence of polar surfaces, such as glass or cellulose in plants. For instance, when water is poured into a glass, the positively charged hydrogen molecules of water are more attracted to the negatively charged oxygen molecules in the silica than to the oxygen in neighboring water molecules.
Capillary action is a result of water’s adhesive tendencies. When a narrow...
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Adherens Junctions01:24

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Strong contact points between adjacent cells anchor them to each other, forming tissues. Such anchoring junctions are of two types –  adherens junctions and desmosomes. Adherens junctions are abundant in tissues such as  epithelium and endothelium, forming a continuous zone of adhesion called the adhesion belt. In other tissues, such as  heart muscle, they appear as clusters, linking the cells to produce coordinated heart muscle contraction.
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Intracellular Signaling Affects Focal Adhesions01:17

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Integrins act both as extracellular input receivers and as intracellular processing activators. As their name suggests, integrins are entirely integrated into the membrane structure. Their hydrophobic membrane-spanning regions interact with the phospholipid bilayer's hydrophobic region. These membrane receptors provide extracellular attachment sites for effectors like hormones and growth factors. They activate intracellular response cascades when their effectors are bound and active.
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Tension Response at Adherens Junctions01:26

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The adherens junctions that anchor cells together are multi-protein complexes that dynamically adapt to mechanical stimuli such as tensile forces and shear stress. Mechanosensory proteins in these junctions can sense such mechanical stimuli and undergo a shift in their conformation, resulting in an altered function — a process called mechanotransduction.
α-Catenin as a Mechanosensory Protein
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Anchoring Junctions01:03

Anchoring Junctions

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Anchoring junctions are multiprotein complexes that help cells connect to other cells and the extracellular matrix. Anchoring junctions are present on the lateral and basal surfaces of cells, providing strong and flexible connections. Focal adhesions are often formed due to cell interactions with the ECM substrata, which initiate signal transduction via kinase cascades and other mechanisms. Together, they provide stability and tissue integrity. There are three types of anchoring junctions:...
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Updated: Apr 27, 2026

Adhesion Frequency Assay for In Situ Kinetics Analysis of Cross-Junctional Molecular Interactions at the Cell-Cell Interface
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Capillary adhesion at the nanometer scale.

Shengfeng Cheng1, Mark O Robbins2

  • 1Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA and Department of Physics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA.

Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
|July 15, 2014
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Molecular dynamics simulations reveal molecular layering causes oscillations in capillary adhesion forces at small separations, deviating from continuum predictions. This effect, missed by macroscopic theory, impacts adhesion significantly.

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Area of Science:

  • Surface Science
  • Nanotechnology
  • Computational Physics

Background:

  • Capillary adhesion is crucial in micro/nanoscale systems.
  • Macroscopic theories predict capillary forces based on surface tension and pressure differences.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate capillary adhesion between a spherical tip and flat substrate using molecular dynamics.
  • Analyze deviations from macroscopic theory at small tip-substrate separations.

Main Methods:

  • Employed molecular dynamics simulations.
  • Varied parameters: tip atomic structure, tip radius, contact angles, liquid volume.
  • Calculated capillary force as a function of separation (h).

Main Results:

  • Agreement with continuum theory for h > ~10 nm.
  • Observed force oscillations and reduced adhesion at h < ~10 nm, attributed to molecular layering.
  • Macroscopic theory accurately describes surface tension and meniscus shape down to ~1 nm.
  • Capillary pressure term is consistently more positive than continuum predictions due to pressure tensor anisotropy.

Conclusions:

  • Molecular layering in confined liquids causes oscillatory capillary forces, a phenomenon absent in macroscopic models.
  • Pressure tensor anisotropy leads to reduced adhesion, with normal pressure exceeding continuum predictions.
  • Macroscopic theory provides a reasonable approximation for larger separations but fails at the nanoscale.