CHEM 355 SUFRACE CHEMISTRY AND PHASE EQUILIBRIA

ASSIGNMENT 1

BAIDOO GIDEON

1669317

1.Discuss the applications of surface and interfacial phenomena in everyday life.

Surface tension is a phenomenon that we see in our everyday life. Many biological performances and
natural processes involve an understanding of wetting and interfacial tension where most biochemical
reactions occur not in solution but at the surface and interface. Human biological fluids such as serum,
urine, gastric juice, amniotic fluid, digestive, urinary and reproductive tracts, endocrine glands, middle
ear, cerebrospinal and alveolar lining fluid contain numerous surfactants, proteins, and lipids. These low
and high-molecular weight surfactants are the common materials in various tissues of the body which
control surface tension of human interfaces. The physicochemical processes that take place in these
interfaces are of fundamental importance for various tissues and the vital function of body organs.1-4

Pathological features of diseases vary in the nature and the magnitude. Despite this diversity, the
common feature of various disorders underlies the physicochemical and biochemical factors such as
surface tension. Changes in the surface tension behavior of human biological fluid are characteristic for
some diseases. Studying these interfaces and the changes that occur will provide valuable information
relating to various diseases and help to monitor the treatment efficacy. In medicine, surface tension
measurement is above all used in connection with various pathological states of lung surfactants such as
adult respiratory distress syndrome, bronchial asthma, and pneumonia. In addition to pneumology, there
are other studies evaluating the surface tension of plasma, urine and other biological fluids, however
beside this work there has been very little work in relating rheology and these forces to pathological
disease states.5,6

The impact of surface tension on pharmaceutical formulation and technology has been studied by our
group.7-13 Surface tensiometry of biological fluids with an impact on medicine is still in its infancy. A
reason for this discrepancy could be that the surface rheology is not introduced to medicine and
theoretical studies and characteristics of biological fluids are not well established.3,6 This article will
review the significant discoveries and milestone to the current state of our knowledge in the area of
biological surfaces and provide a context for the discussion of surface tension as a tool in medical
diagnostics, which combined with routine lab tests may be used as an indicator for differential diagnosis.
2. Discuss the latest scientific research (2016 – 2019) in surface chemistry.

1. On-surface synthesis and characterization of individual polyacetylene chains

Polyacetylene is an ideal system to probe to gain a better understanding of the nature of charge
transport in conducting polymers. Now, individual atomically precise polyacetylene chains have been
synthesized on a copper surface and characterized using a range of techniques, revealing a doping-
induced semiconductor-to-metal transition.

2. Reaction selectivity of homochiral versus heterochiral intermolecular reactions of prochiral terminal

alkynes on surfaces

Controlling selectivity between homochiral and heterochiral reaction pathways on surfaces is intriguing
but challenging. Here, the authors demonstrate strategies in steering the reactions of prochiral terminal
alkynes between the homochiral and heterochiral pathways by tuning the precursor substituents and the
kinetic parameters.

3. On-water surface synthesis of crystalline, few-layer two-dimensional polymers assisted by surfactant

monolayers

It is difficult to prepare 2D polymers that are crystalline over large areas. Now, few-layer 2D polyimides
and polyamides with good crystallinity on the micrometre scale have been synthesized on a water
surface. A surfactant monolayer is used to organize amine monomers before their polymerization with
anhydride moieties.

4.Probing molecular mechanisms of M13 bacteriophage adhesion

Bacteriophages are widely used in nanotechnology. Here the specific intermolecular forces controlling
interactions between a bacteriophage peptide and several self-assembled monolayers are probed and
shown to depend on pi-pi stacking and hydrophobic interactions.

5. Polyacetylene (PA) comprises one-dimensional chains of sp2-hybridized carbon atoms that may take a
cis or trans configuration. Owing to its simple chemical structure and exceptional electronic properties,
PA is an ideal system to understand the nature of charge transport in conducting polymers. Here, we
report the on-surface synthesis of both cis- and trans-PA chains and their atomic-scale characterization.
The structure of individual PA chains was imaged by non-contact atomic force microscopy, which
confirmed the formation of PA by resolving single chemical bond units.
References.

1. Castner DG, Ratner BD. Biomedical surface science: Foundations to frontiers. Surf Sci. 2002.

2. Trukhin DV, Sinyachenko OV, Kazakov VN, Lylyk SV, Belokon AM, Pison U. Dynamic surface tension and
surface rheology of biological Liquids, Colloid Surf B.

3. Kazakov VN, Vozianov AF, Sinyachenko OV, Trukhin DV, Kovalchuk VI, Pison U. Studies on the
application of dynamic surface tensiometry of serum and cerebrospinal liquid for diagnostics and
monitoring of treatment in patients who have rheumatic, neurological or oncological diseases.

4. McGuire JF. Surfactant in the middle ear and eustachian tube: A review. Int J Ped Otorhinolaryngol.

5. Depalma RG. Surface forces in biological material; measurement of surface tension by drop volume. J
Surg Res. 1967;7:317–322.

6. Kazakov VN, Sinyachenko OV, Trukhin DV, Pison U. Dynamic interfacial tensiometry of biologic liquids
-does it have an impact on medicine. Colloid Surf A.

7.Rodenas, T. et al. Metal–organic framework nanosheets in polymer composite materials for gas
separation. Nat. Mater. 14, 48–55 (2015).

8.Tessler, N., Denton, G. J. & Friend, R. H. Lasing from conjugated-polymer microcavities. Nature 382,
695–697 (1996).

9.Matsumoto, M. et al. Lewis-acid-catalyzed interfacial polymerization of covalent organic framework

films. Chem 4, 308–317 (2018).

10. Dey, K. et al. Selective molecular separation by interfacially crystallized covalent organic framework
thin films. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 139, 13083–13091 (2017).