Quantifying interfacial substrate interactions via surface energy analyses
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Updated: Nov 5, 2025
Accurate Determination of the Equilibrium Surface Tension Values with Area Perturbation Tests
Published on: August 30, 2019
T Brian Cavitt1, Jasmine G Carlisle1, Rachel A Brooks1
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Lipscomb University, One University Park Drive, Nashville, TN 37217 USA.
Abstract:
Determination of a substrate's surface energy profile is a facile and inexpensive method to indicate the substrate's interfacial thermodynamics with another substance (e.g., microorganisms, biomacromolecules, medical devices, etc). The following protocol details a goniometric method to calculate a substrate's surface energy profile which (1) directly correlates to a substrate's interfacial Gibbs energy (ΔG) and (2) predicts the interfacial interactions with other substances. We also provide a calculation template using advanced mathematics to expedite surface energy profile determination. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Cavitt et al. (2020).
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