Method to Measure Surface Tension of Microdroplets Using Standard AFM Cantilever Tips.

ABSTRACT: Surface tension is a physical property that is central to our understanding of wetting phenomena. One could easily measure liquid surface tension using commercially available tensiometers (e.g., Wilhelmy plate method) or by optical imaging (e.g., pendant drop method). However, such instruments are designed for bulk liquid volumes on the order of milliliters. In order to perform similar measurements on extremely small sample volumes in the range of femtoliters, atomic force microscope (AFM) is considered as a promising tool. It was previously reported that by fabricating a special "nanoneedle"-shaped cantilever probe, a Wilhelmy-like experiment can be performed with AFM. By measuring the capillary force between such special probes and a liquid surface, surface tension could be calculated. H

SUBMITTER: Sudersan P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10399288 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature