Induced hydrophobic recovery of oxygen plasma-treated surfaces

Plasma treatment is a widely used method in microfabrication laboratories and the plasticware industry to functionalize surfaces for device bonding and preparation for mammalian cell culture. However, spatial control of plasma treatment is challenging because it typically requires a tedious masking step that is prone to alignment errors. Currently, there are no available methods to actively revert a surface from a treated hydrophilic state to its original hydrophobic state. Here, we describe a method that relies on physical contact treatment (PCT) to actively induce hydrophobic recovery of plasma-treated surfaces. PCT involves applying brushing and peeling processes with common wipers and tapes to reverse the wettability of hydrophilized surfaces while simultaneously preserving hydrophilicity of non-contacted surfaces. We demonstrate that PCT is a user-friendly method that allows 2D and 3D surface patterning of hydrophobic regions, and the protection of hydrophilic surfaces from unwanted PCT-induced recovery. This method will be useful in academic and industrial settings where plasma treatment is frequently used.     

XPS and SIMS investigations on plasma-treated glass surfaces

Commercially available float-glass samples were exposed to ion bombardment in an HF-plasma. This should form an SiO₂-rich layer close to the surface of the samples. From XPS-investigations it was found that treatment times between 2 and 4 min in Ar plasma lead to a pronounced depletion of alkalis. Further FAB-SIMS depth profiles gave additional information about the extension of the layers with altered stoichiometry.     

Lithographic patterning on polydimethylsiloxane surfaces using polydimethylglutarimide

We present a method for high fidelity lithographic patterning on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfaces employing traditional cleanroom equipment and commercially available materials that overcomes previous problems in PDMS processing. To illustrate this method, an electrostatically actuated microfluidic pump and rectangular diffraction gratings were fabricated on PDMS.     

Matrix-free laser desorption/ionization of ions landed on plasma-treated metal surfaces

We report new experiments in which laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LDI-TOF-MS) was applied to detection and characterization of gramicidin S and IgG pentapeptide (DSDPR) that were reactively landed on plasma-treated stainless steel surfaces. The distributions of [M + H](+), [M + Na](+) and [M + K](+) ion species in LDI-TOF for gramicidin S and IgG pentapeptide (DSDPR) were found to be markedly different from those in conventional MALDI-TOF spectra of the same samples. LDI-TOF mass spectra showed a strong preference for [M + K](+) adducts even in the presence of a large excess of sodium cations, or following surface treatment with trifluoroacetic acid. Alkali metal cations (K(+) and Cs(+)) can be exchanged in reactively landed peptide samples to provide the corresponding cationized peptide ions by LDI. Multiple charged trypsin cations were reactively landed into a layer of 2-(4-hydroxyphenylazo)benzoic acid and ionized by LDI. The ionization mechanisms for LDI of surface-deposited peptides are briefly discussed. Copyright (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Super-hydrophobic, highly adhesive, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfaces

Super-hydrophobic surfaces have been fabricated by casting polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) on a textured substrate of known surface topography, and were characterized using contact angle, atomic force microscopy, surface free energy calculations, and adhesion measurements. The resulting PDMS has a micro-textured surface with a static contact angle of 153.5° and a hysteresis of 27° when using de-ionized water. Unlike many super-hydrophobic materials, the textured PDMS is highly adhesive, allowing water drops as large as 25.0 μL to be inverted. This high adhesion, super-hydrophobic behavior is an illustration of the "petal effect". This rapid, reproducible technique has promising applications in transport and analysis of microvolume samples.     

Zeta potentials of polydimethylsiloxane surfaces modified by polybrene of different concentrations

Zeta potential is an important parameter for characterizing the electrokinetic properties of a solid–liquid interface. In this paper, zeta potentials of polydimethylsiloxane surfaces modified by polybrene (PB) solutions of different concentrations in Phosphate buffer solution and pure water were reported. The zeta potentials were measured by an induction current method. The measurements were validated both by a calibration curve based on the data reported in the published papers and by comparing the zeta potential determined by using the Smoluchowski equation and the measured velocity of the electrokinetic motion of particles in a microchannel.     

The influence of radio-frequency radiation on thermal stability of bovine serum albumin in aqueous solution

Protein unfolding events were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for bovine serum albumin (BSA) aqueous solutions exposed to radio-frequency radiation. No immediate effect of this radiation on thermal unfolding of BSA was observed. The differences between irradiated and control samples have appeared during the storage of BSA solution. The irradiated samples changed faster than non-irradiated. Our results indicated that the age-related changes were stronger for 3.5 and 5 MHz than for 247 MHz frequency and dependent on energy power of radiation. Deconvolution of DSC traces allowed to study the effect of radio-frequency radiation on each component transition. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Environmentally dependent stability of low-index hematite surfaces

Nanoparticulate hematite is a promising material for catalytic and photoelectrochemical applications, where the surfaces are engineered to improve efficiency in different chemical environments. In the presence of water, the surfaces are typically passivated by hydroxyl groups, which modify the surface stability and reactivity. We use density functional theory and first principles thermodynamics to investigate the low-index surfaces (001), (101), and (104) in hydrous environments. For each of the surfaces, we build various hydroxylation configurations and compare their thermodynamic stability under different environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, and supersaturation of oxygen). The results enable us to construct surface phase diagrams, which provide guidance to the selection of surface structures, and the control of environmental conditions for specific applications.     

Analytical investigation of plasma-treated carbon fibres

As-grown and heat-treated vapour grown carbon fibres (VGCF) in the as-prepared state, washed in HCl/H(2)O, and treated in O(2) plasma for different periods have been investigated by means of XPS and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The surface energy of the carbon fibres before and after plasma treatment was determined from the wetting contact angle. Washing introduced hydroxyl, carbonyl and carboxyl groups onto the fibre surfaces and oxygen plasma treatment increases the total atomic concentration of oxygen up to 17%. This is in good agreement with the value of the polar component of the surface energy. Plasma treatment also enhanced the fibre surface porosity (by etching).     

The structural stability principle and branching points on multidimensional potential energy surfaces

The chemically interesting potential energy surfaces (PES) are considered on which the conditions underlying application of structural stability principle and Morse inequalities are violated. The possibility of treatment of singular branching points on a PES slope in terms of intrinsic reaction curves (IRC) is discussed.     

Dielectric relaxation of polydimethylsiloxane

Dielectric studies were performed on crystallized and amorphous polydimethylsiloxane which had been characterized by differential thermal analysis and polarized light microscopy. The crystallized specimen displayed one relaxation near 160 K at 1 kHz while the amorphous specimen showed absorption peaks at 155 and 165 K. For the latter material the high-temperature peak was not due to a true relaxation but resulted from crystal nucleation at 160 K and the subsequent growth of spherulites. The low-temperature peak at 155 K resulted from the relaxation associated with the glass transition. A sharp decrease of dielectric constant was observed for both specimens at the melting point (235 K). For the dielectric relaxation associated with the glass transition in crystallized specimens, the values of the dispersion amplitude, the apparent activation energy at 160 K, and the half-width of the absorption curve are 0.43 and 29 kcal/mole, and 5.6 decades, respectively, which are in marked contrast to the corresponding values of 0.82, 18, and 2.2 for amorphous specimens.     

The thermal degradation behaviour of polydimethylsiloxane/montmorillonite nanocomposites

A series of novel polydimethylsiloxane/montmorillonite (PDMS/MMT) nanocomposites was prepared. The thermal degradation behaviour of these nanocomposites was studied by means of Thermal Volatilization Analysis (TVA) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). The major degradation products were identified as cyclic oligomeric siloxanes from D₃ to D_7, and higher oligomeric siloxane residues. Other minor degradation products include methane, bis-pentamethylcyclotrisiloxane, propene, propanal, benzene and dimethylsilanone. The results demonstrate that the nanoclay significantly alters the degradation behaviour of the PDMS network, modifying the profile of the thermal degradation and reducing the overall rate of volatiles evolution. The results also indicate that the nanoclay promotes the formation of dimethylsilanone and benzene by inducing low levels of radical chain scission.     

XPS and atomic force microscopy of plasma-treated polysulfone

Surface treatment of polysulfone by O₂, H₂, He, Ne, Ar, and CF₄ nonisothermal glow discharges has been investigated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The chemical and topographical modification of the surface is found to be strongly influenced by the type of feed gas employed. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Composites of kaolin and polydimethylsiloxane

Kaolin particles were surface-treated with isobutyltrimethoxysilane (IBTMS), hydrogenated tallow (HT), and a polyisobutyl chain-based stabilizer (SAP) to make composites with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). IBTMS did not cover the strong acid sites on the kaolin surface and as a result a cross-linking reaction occurred for silanol-terminated PDMS. The polyisobutyl chain of SAP was found to be incompatible with PDMS and this caused aggregation of the kaolin particles. HT was the most effective at dispersing the particles into silanol-terminated PDMS. The aggregation state of the composites was characterized using rheology and microscopy. Both showed the HT-treated particles were well-dispersed in low molecular weight silanol-terminated PDMS, and they were weakly flocculated in higher molecular weight silanol-terminated PDMS. However, the same particles aggregated when dispersed in methyl-terminated PDMS. It appears the silanol-terminated PDMS acted as costabilizer through interaction with the kaolin surface. Transverse relaxation NMR was used to probe mobility of the PDMS chains in the composites. This showed little dependence on surface treatment, aggregation state, or polymer end groups. For all samples, chain mobility decreased with increasing kaolin concentration.