Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Adhesion

Adhesion

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...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

pH-Responsive Core-Shell Polymer Capsules via Liquid-Liquid Encapsulation with Decoupled Release Onset and Diffusion Kinetics.

ACS applied bio materials·2026

Same author

Obstruction-Mediated Breakup of Shear-Thinning Droplets in Microfluidic Environment: Experiments, Simulations, and ANN Insights.

Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids·2026

Same author

Pharmacological intervention for renal ischemia-reperfusion injury with dose-matched glucocorticoids.

Clinical transplantation and research·2026

Same author

Rapid Underwater Adhesion via Photo-Activated Chemically Cross-Linked Hybrid Network.

ACS applied materials & interfaces·2026

Same author

Creating Tunable Low-Surface-Tension-Liquid Capsules via Impact-Driven Liquid-Liquid Encapsulation.

Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids·2026

Same author

Extracellular Vesicles in Liver Disease: Redefining Diagnostic and Therapeutic Strategies.

International journal of stem cells·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 13, 2026

Synthesis of Hydrogels with Antifouling Properties As Membranes for Water Purification

Synthesis of Hydrogels with Antifouling Properties As Membranes for Water Purification

Published on: April 7, 2017

Flexible hydrogels connecting adhesion and wetting.

A-Reum Kim¹, Surjyasish Mitra², Sudip Shyam²

¹Department of Chemical Engineering, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada. zhaob@uwaterloo.ca.

|April 23, 2024

Summary

This study bridges the gap between adhesion and wetting by examining soft materials like hydrogels and PDMS. Researchers developed a model explaining how material properties influence interactions, from adhesion to full wetting.

More Related Videos

Easy Manipulation of Architectures in Protein-based Hydrogels for Cell Culture Applications

Easy Manipulation of Architectures in Protein-based Hydrogels for Cell Culture Applications

Published on: August 4, 2017

Synthesis of Strong Adhesive Hydrogel, Gelatin O-Nitrosobenzaldehyde

Synthesis of Strong Adhesive Hydrogel, Gelatin O-Nitrosobenzaldehyde

Published on: November 11, 2022

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 13, 2026

Synthesis of Hydrogels with Antifouling Properties As Membranes for Water Purification

Synthesis of Hydrogels with Antifouling Properties As Membranes for Water Purification

Published on: April 7, 2017

Easy Manipulation of Architectures in Protein-based Hydrogels for Cell Culture Applications

Easy Manipulation of Architectures in Protein-based Hydrogels for Cell Culture Applications

Published on: August 4, 2017

Synthesis of Strong Adhesive Hydrogel, Gelatin O-Nitrosobenzaldehyde

Synthesis of Strong Adhesive Hydrogel, Gelatin O-Nitrosobenzaldehyde

Published on: November 11, 2022

Area of Science:

Materials Science
Soft Matter Physics
Surface Science

Background:

Classical wetting theories (Young-Dupre) apply to liquids on solids.
Contact mechanics theories address rigid-soft or soft-rigid interactions with small deformations.
The transition between adhesion and wetting, especially in soft-on-soft systems, remains incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the crossover between adhesion and wetting phenomena.
To explore soft-on-soft interactions using materials with properties between liquids and solids.
To develop a unified theoretical model for these interactions.

Main Methods:

Experimental probing of hydrogel and PDMS interactions with varying elasticity.
Systematic investigation across six orders of magnitude of the elasto-adhesive parameter.
Development of a novel theoretical framework.

Main Results:

Revealed previously unobserved phenomenology in soft-on-soft material interactions.
Demonstrated a smooth transition from adhesion to wetting based on material properties.
Validated a new theoretical model that unifies adhesion and wetting behaviors.

Conclusions:

The study successfully translates adhesion to wetting through soft-on-soft interactions.
A new theoretical model provides a unified description for diverse contact phenomena.
Findings advance the understanding of interfacial mechanics in soft materials.