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Outstanding Scientists in Colloids and Interfaces: Emil Chibowski

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A special issue of Colloids and Interfaces (ISSN 2504-5377).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 34473

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Prof. Dr. Aleksandra Szcześ

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Department of Physical Chemistry-Interfacial Phenomena, Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, M.C.-Sklodowska Sq. 3/114, 20-031 Lublin, Poland
Interests: colloid and interface science; biomaterials and nanomaterials; liposomes
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Prof. Dr. Victor Starov

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Chemical Engineering Department, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK
Interests: colloid and interface science; kinetics of wetting and spreading
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Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue belongs to a group of issues in our journal dedicated to outstanding scientists, pioneers in their scientific field, founder of schools, inventors of instruments, experts for great achievements in colloids and interfaces. The authors invited to submit their contributions here underline the particular role of the honoured scientist.

Emil Chibowski is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin (UMCS), where he has been faculty member since 1967. From 1987 to 1989 he served as vice-director of the Institute of Chemistry and later as Chair of the Physical Chemistry until 2012. As postdoc he worked at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and he was visiting Professor at the Universities of Granada and Jaen in Spain. In 1981 he was habilitated and became Professor in Lublin in 1989. Prof. Chibowski has quite a number of collaborations with researchers in Europe and the United States of America which lead to sixty joint papers. His research interests span the fields of interfacial phenomena, wettability, dispersed systems, emulsions, electrokinetic phenomena, effects of electric and magnetic fields on stability of the dispersed systems. He worked on the wettability of solids, contact angle measurements, contact angle hysteresis interpretation, and determination of surface free energy of solids and its components. Among many achievements, he has developed a theory of the thin wicking layer method used for the determination of solid surface free energy and its components from the rate of penetration of probe liquids into thin porous layers deposited on a solid support. Prof. Chibowski is author of more than 200 papers in peer reviewed journals and been cited more than 4000 times.

The manuscripts to be submitted to this Special Issue aim at honouring the particular work of Prof. Emil Chibowski for his great achievements over more than 50 years of work as scientist and teacher at the University of Lublin.

Prof. Aleksandra Szcześ
Prof. Victor Starov
Guest Editors

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 5020 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Foam Quality of Foams Formed on Capillaries and Porous Media Systems

by Victor Starov, Anna Trybala, Phillip Johnson and Mauro Vaccaro

Colloids Interfaces 2021, 5(1), 10; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/colloids5010010 - 08 Feb 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2817

Abstract

Foams are of great importance as a result of their expansive presence in everyday life—they are used in the food, cosmetic, and process industries, and in detergency, oil recovery, and firefighting. There is a little understanding of foam formation using soft porous media in terms of the quality of foam and foam formation. Interaction of foams with porous media has recently been investigated in a study by Arjmandi-Tash et al., where three different regimes of foam drainage in contact with porous media were observed. In this study, the amount of foam generated using porous media with surfactant solutions is investigated. The aim is to understand the quality of foam produced using porous media. The effect of capillary sizes and arrangement of porous in porous media has on the quality of foam is investigated. This is then followed by the use of soft porous media for foam formation to understand how the foam is generated on the surface of the porous media and the effect that different conditions (such as concentration) have on the quality of the foam. The quality of foam is a blanket term for bubble size, liquid volume fraction, and stability of the foam. The liquid volume fraction is calculated using a homemade dynamic foam analyser, which is used to obtain the distribution of liquid volume fraction along with the foam height. Soft porous media does not influence substantially the rate of decay of foam produced, however, it decreases the average diameter of the bubbles, whilst increasing the range of bubble sizes due to the wide range of pore sizes present in the soft porous media. The foam analyser showed the expected behaviour that, as the foam decays and becomes drier, the liquid volume fraction of the foam falls, and therefore the conductivity of foam also decreases, indicating the usefulness of the home-made device for future investigations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Outstanding Scientists in Colloids and Interfaces: Emil Chibowski)

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7 pages, 2072 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Surface Activity of Natural Surfactants Extracted from Sapindus mukorossi and Sapindus trifoliatus Soapnuts

by Patrycja Wojtoń, Magdalena Szaniawska, Lucyna Hołysz, Reinhard Miller and Aleksandra Szcześ

Colloids Interfaces 2021, 5(1), 7; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/colloids5010007 - 31 Jan 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3656

Abstract

Surfactants derived from renewable sources such as plants are an ecological alternative to synthetic surfactants. Aqueous solutions of natural surfactants extracted from soapnuts obtained from two plants, Sapindus mukorossi and Sapindus trifoliatus, were studied. Their properties in terms of surface tension reduction and wettability were examinated. The natural surfactants show the ability to reduce the surface tension and increase the wettability of the hydrophobic polytetrafluoroethylene surface. These nuts can be used repeatedly for washing also in hard water. Crude extracts from Sp. trifoliatus exhibit better surface properties than those from Sp. mukorossi. This makes these soapnuts a good potential source of biosurfactants for household use. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Outstanding Scientists in Colloids and Interfaces: Emil Chibowski)

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19 pages, 5239 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental Data Contributing to the Elusive Surface Charge of Inert Materials in Contact with Aqueous Media

by Antun Barišić, Johannes Lützenkirchen, Nikol Bebić, Qinzhi Li, Khalil Hanna, Andrey Shchukarev and Tajana Begović

Colloids Interfaces 2021, 5(1), 6; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/colloids5010006 - 23 Jan 2021

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3017

Abstract

We studied the charging of inert surfaces (polytetrafluoroethylene, i.e., PTFE; graphite; graphene; and hydrophobic silica) using classical colloid chemistry approaches. Potentiometric titrations showed that these surfaces acquired less charge from proton-related reactions than oxide minerals. The data from batch-type titrations for PTFE powder did not show an effect of ionic strength, which was also in contrast with results for classical colloids. In agreement with classical colloids, the electrokinetic results for inert surfaces showed the typical salt level dependence. In some cases, the point of zero net proton charge as determined from mass and tentatively from acid–base titration differed from isoelectric points, which has also been previously observed, for example by Chibowski and co-workers for ice electrolyte interfaces. Finally, we found no evidence for surface contaminations of our PTFE particles before and after immersion in aqueous solutions. Only in the presence of NaCl-containing solutions did cryo-XPS detect oxygen from water. We believe that our low isoelectric points for PTFE were not due to impurities. Moreover, the measured buffering at pH 3 could not be explained by sub-micromolar concentrations of contaminants. The most comprehensive explanation for the various sets of data is that hydroxide ion accumulation occurred at the interfaces between inert surfaces and aqueous solutions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Outstanding Scientists in Colloids and Interfaces: Emil Chibowski)

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12 pages, 3566 KiB

Open AccessArticle

What Can You Learn about Apparent Surface Free Energy from the Hysteresis Approach?

by Konrad Terpiłowski, Lucyna Hołysz, Michał Chodkowski and David Clemente Guinarte

Colloids Interfaces 2021, 5(1), 4; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/colloids5010004 - 14 Jan 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2842

Abstract

The apparent surface free energy is one of the most important quantities in determining the surface properties of solids. So far, no method of measuring this energy has been found. The essence of contact angle measurements is problematic. Contact angles should be measured as proposed by Young, i.e., in equilibrium with the liquid vapors. This type of measurement is not possible because within a short time, the droplet in the closed chamber reaches equilibrium not only with vapors but also with the liquid film adsorbed on the tested surface. In this study, the surface free energy was determined for the plasma-activated polyoxymethylene (POM) polymer. Activation of the polymer with plasma leads to an increase in the value of the total apparent surface free energy. When using the energy calculations from the hysteresis based approach (CAH), it should be noted that the energy changes significantly when it is calculated from the contact angles of a polar liquid, whereas being calculated from the angles of a non-polar liquid, the surface activation with plasma changes its value slightly. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Outstanding Scientists in Colloids and Interfaces: Emil Chibowski)

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14 pages, 1651 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Adsorption Properties of Soft Hydrophobically Functionalized PSS/MA Polyelectrolytes

by Ewelina Jarek, Zofia Krasińska-Krawet, Tomasz Kruk, Łukasz Lamch, Sylwia Ronka, Kazimiera A. Wilk and Piotr Warszyński

Colloids Interfaces 2021, 5(1), 3; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/colloids5010003 - 14 Jan 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2447

Abstract

We investigated the adsorption properties of the newly synthesized, hydrophobically functionalized polyelectrolyte (HF-PE), poly(4-styrenesulfonic-co-maleic acid) copolymer (PSS/MA). The hydrophobic alkyl side chains (C₁₂ or C₁₆) were incorporated into the polyelectrolyte backbone via the labile amid linker to obtain the soft HF-PE product with the assumed amount of 15% and 40% degree of grafting for every length of the alkyl chain, i.e., PSS/MA-g-C₁₂NH₂ (15% or 40%) as well as PSS/MA-g-C₁₆NH₂ (15% or 40%). In the present contribution, we determined both the effect of grafting density and the length of alkyl chain on adsorption at water/air and water/decane interfaces, as well as on top of the polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) deposited on a solid surface. The dependence of the interfacial tension on copolymer concentration was investigated by the pendant drop method, while the adsorption at solid surface coated by poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)/poly(styrene sulphonate) PEM by the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D), attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR) and contact angle analysis. We found that surface activity of the hydrophobized copolymer was practically independent of the grafting ratio for C₁₆ side chains, whereas, for C₁₂, the copolymer with a lower grafting ratio seemed to be more surface active. The results of QCM-D and FTIR-ATR experiments confirmed the adsorption of hydrophobized copolymer at PEM along with the modification of water structure at the interface. Finally, it can be concluded that the hydrophobically modified PSS/MA can be successfully applied either as the efficacious emulsifier for the formation of (nano)emulsions for further active substances encapsulation using the sequential adsorption method or as one of the convenient building blocks for the surface modification materials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Outstanding Scientists in Colloids and Interfaces: Emil Chibowski)

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16 pages, 2100 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Microparticle Deposition on Human Serum Albumin Layers: Unraveling Anomalous Adsorption Mechanism

by Małgorzata Nattich-Rak, Maria Dąbkowska and Zbigniew Adamczyk

Colloids Interfaces 2020, 4(4), 51; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/colloids4040051 - 05 Nov 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2255

Abstract

Human serum albumin (HSA) layers are adsorbed on mica under controlled diffusion transport at pH 3.5 and various ionic strengths. The surface concentration of HSA is directly determined by AFM imaging of single molecules. It is shown that the adsorption kinetics derived in this way is quantitatively described using the random sequential (RSA) adsorption model. The electrokinetic characteristics of the HSA layers at various pHs comprising their zeta potential are acquired in situ while using the streaming potential method. It is shown that at pH 3.5 the zeta potential of mica becomes positive for HSA concentrations above 3000 μm⁻². At larger pHs, HSA layers exhibit negative zeta potential for the entire range of coverage. Thorough characteristics of these monolayers at various pHs were performed applying the colloid deposition method involving negatively charged polystyrene microparticles. The kinetics of their deposition and their maximum coverage are determined as a function of the HSA layer surface concentration, pH, and ionic strength. An anomalous deposition of microparticles on substrates also exhibiting a negative zeta potential is observed, which contradicts the Derjaguin, Landau, Vervey, Overbeek (DLVO) theory. This effect is interpreted in terms of heterogeneous charge distribution that results from molecule concentration fluctuations. It is also shown that the maximum concentration of microparticles abruptly decreases with the electric double-layer thickness that is regulated by changing ionic strength, which indicates that their deposition is governed by electrostatic interactions. One can argue that the results obtained in this work can be exploited as useful reference data for the analysis of deposition phenomena of bioparticles on protein layers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Outstanding Scientists in Colloids and Interfaces: Emil Chibowski)

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7 pages, 703 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

The Effects of Ethanol Concentration and of Ionic Strength on the Zeta Potential of Titania in the Presence of Sodium Octadecyl Sulfate

by Marek Kosmulski and Edward Mączka

Colloids Interfaces 2020, 4(4), 49; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/colloids4040049 - 02 Nov 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3055

Abstract

Sodium octadecyl sulfate (C₁₈H₃₇SO₄Na) induces a negative zeta potential of metal oxides at very low surfactant concentrations as compared with shorter-chained sodium alkyl sulfates. The problem of low solubility of sodium octadecyl sulfate in water was solved by the addition of the surfactant to dispersions as ethanolic stock solution, but then the presence of ethanol in dispersions was inevitable. We demonstrate that the concentration of ethanol (up to 5% by mass) in a dispersion containing titania (TiO₂) and sodium octadecyl sulfate has an insignificant effect on the zeta potential of particles. We further demonstrate that the shifts in the IEP of titania induced by the presence of sodium octadecyl sulfate are independent of the NaCl concentration. The results obtained in this study can be generalized for 1-1 salts other than NaCl, for metal oxides other than titania, for organic co-solvents other than ethanol, and for sparingly soluble ionic surfactants other than sodium octadecyl sulfate. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Outstanding Scientists in Colloids and Interfaces: Emil Chibowski)

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18 pages, 4357 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Adsorption of Mixtures of a Pegylated Lipid with Anionic and Zwitterionic Surfactants at Solid/Liquid

by Sara Llamas, Eduardo Guzmán, Francisco Ortega and Ramón G. Rubio

Colloids Interfaces 2020, 4(4), 47; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/colloids4040047 - 29 Oct 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2760

Abstract

This work explores the association of a pegylated lipid (DSPE-PEG) with different anionic and zwitterionic surfactants (pseudo-binary and pseudo-ternary polymer+ surfactant mixtures), and the adsorption of the polymer + surfactant aggregates onto negatively charged surfaces, with a surface charge density similar to that existing on the damaged hair epicuticle. Dynamic light scattering and zeta potential measurements shows that, in solution, the polymer + surfactant association results from an intricate balance between electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions, which leads to the formation of at least two different types of micellar-like polymer + surfactant aggregates. The structure and physicochemical properties of such aggregates were found strongly dependent on the specific nature and concentration of the surfactant. The adsorption of the polymer + surfactant aggregates onto negatively charged surface was studied using a set of surface-sensitive techniques (quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring, ellipsometry and Atomic Force Microscopy), which allows obtaining information about the adsorbed amount, the water content of the layers and the topography of the obtained films. Ion-dipole interactions between the negative charges of the surface and the oxyethylene groups of the polymer + surfactant aggregates appear as the main driving force of the deposition process. This is strongly dependent on the surfactant nature and its concentration, with the impact of the latter on the adsorption being especially critical when anionic surfactant are incorporated within the aggregates. This study opens important perspectives for modulating the deposition of a poorly interacting polymer onto negatively charged surfaces, which can impact in the fabrication on different aspects with technological and industrial interest. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Outstanding Scientists in Colloids and Interfaces: Emil Chibowski)

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12 pages, 2404 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparison of Oxalate, Citrate and Tartrate Ions Adsorption in the Hydroxyapatite/Aqueous Electrolyte Solution System

by Władysław Janusz and Ewa Skwarek

Colloids Interfaces 2020, 4(4), 45; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/colloids4040045 - 15 Oct 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3140

Abstract

The kinetics of adsorption/desorption of oxalate, citrate and tartrate anions was investigated using hydroxyapatite from solutions at the initial concentrations of 0.000001 and 0.001 mol/dm³ anions. The adsorption process from a solution with a concentration of 0.001 mol/dm³ takes place in three stages and is well described by the multiexponential equation of adsorption kinetics. The process of tartrate and citrate ion desorption after increasing the pH to 10 is irreversible, while the oxalate ions undergo significant desorption with the increasing pH. The adsorption of oxalate ions decreases with the increasing pH. This effect is weaker in the adsorption of citrate and tartrate ions. Ion adsorption studies were supplemented with the measurements of zeta potential, FTIR and particle distribution of hydroxyapatite particles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Outstanding Scientists in Colloids and Interfaces: Emil Chibowski)

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15 pages, 2683 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Temperature on the Dynamic Properties of Mixed Surfactant Adsorbed Layers at the Water/Hexane Interface under Low-Gravity Conditions

by Volodymyr I. Kovalchuk, Giuseppe Loglio, Alexey G. Bykov, Michele Ferrari, Jürgen Krägel, Libero Liggieri, Reinhard Miller, Olga Yu. Milyaeva, Boris A. Noskov, Francesca Ravera, Eva Santini and Emanuel Schneck

Colloids Interfaces 2020, 4(3), 27; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/colloids4030027 - 02 Jul 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2936

Abstract

An increase in temperature typically leads to a decrease in the interfacial tension of a water/oil interface. The addition of surfactants to the system can complicate the situation significantly, i.e., the interfacial tension can increase or decrease with an increasing temperature. For most concentrations of the two studied surfactants, the cationic tetradecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (TTAB) and the nonionic tridecyl dimethyl phosphine oxide (C₁₃DMPO), the measured interfacial tension of the aqueous mixed surfactant solutions against hexane increases when the temperature decreases between 30 °C and 20 °C. However, with a further temperature decrease between 20 °C and 15 °C, the reverse effect has also been observed at some concentrations, i.e., a decrease of interfacial tension. Additionally, the corresponding dilational interfacial visco-elasticity shows some discrepant temperature effects, depending on the bulk concentration and oscillation frequency. The experiments have been performed with a capillary pressure tensiometer under the conditions of micro-gravity. The reason for the positive and negative interfacial tension and visco-elasticity gradients, respectively, within certain ranges of the temperature, concentration and mixing ratios, are discussed on the basis of all available parameters, such as the solubility and partitioning of the surfactants in the two liquid phases and the oscillation frequency. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Outstanding Scientists in Colloids and Interfaces: Emil Chibowski)

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Review

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22 pages, 1242 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

Cyclosporine CsA—The Physicochemical Characterization of Liposomal and Colloidal Systems

by Agnieszka Ewa Wiącek, Małgorzata Jurak, Agata Ładniak, Kacper Przykaza and Klaudia Szafran

Colloids Interfaces 2020, 4(4), 46; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/colloids4040046 - 20 Oct 2020

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4463

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of the possibilities of testing various cyclosporine (CsA) formulations with an emphasis on parameters that may be key to improving the stability and biocompatibility. The feasibility of CsA colloidal systems for oral (injection) administration were investigated using different techniques and compared with similar investigations of other researchers. The chosen CsA systems were developed using dipalmitoylphosphocholine (DPPC) and/or cholesterol as a lipid matrix, stabilized with ethanol, with soybean oil or n-tetradecane as oil phase in emulsions, under natural pH, room and physiological temperature. Their integrity was found to be strictly dependent on the stabilizers. The highest CsA penetrability with the system containing phospholipid in the context of its interactions with lipid membranes was shown. Also, the bioavailability of CsA can be enhanced with the biopolymer antibacterial chitosan. This mini-review suggests the suitability of liposome/microemulsion as promising vehicles for CsA delivery. The most hopeful proved to be formulation with the smaller particle size facilitating absorption, but when safety is assessed, relying on just the particle size cannot be the only criteria. Reassumed, the CsA formulation stability known on the basis of the size and zeta potential measurements guarantees a decrease of the individual variations in the drug bioavailability, toxicity and minimizes rejection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Outstanding Scientists in Colloids and Interfaces: Emil Chibowski)

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