Four types of contact angles (receding, most stable, advancing, and "static") were measured by two independent laboratories for a large number of solid surfaces, spanning a large range of surface tensions. It is shown that the most stable contact angle, which is theoretically required for calculating the Young contact angle, is a practical, useful tool for wettability characterization of solid surfaces. In addition, it is shown that the experimentally measured most stable contact angle may not always be approximated by an average angle calculated from the advancing and receding contact angles. The "static" CA is shown in many cases to be very different from the most stable one. The measured contact angles were used for calculating the surface tensions of the solid samples by five methods. Meaningful differences exist among the surface tensions calculated using four previously known methods (Owens-Wendt, Wu, acid-base, and equation of state). A recently developed, Gibbsian-based correlation between interfacial tensions and individual surface tensions was used to calculate the surface tensions of the solid surfaces from the most stable contact angle of water. This calculation yielded in most cases higher values than calculated with the other four methods. On the basis of some low surface energy samples, the higher values appear to be justified.

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of galactoside-terminated alkanethiols have protein-resistance properties which can be tuned via the degree of methylation [Langmuir 2005, 21, 2971-2980]. Specifically, a partially methylated compound was more resistant to nonspecific protein adsorption than the hydroxylated or fully methylated counterparts. We investigate whether this also holds true for resistance to the attachment and adhesion of a range of marine species, in order to clarify to what extent resistance to protein adsorption correlates with the more complex adhesion of fouling organisms. The partially methylated galactoside-terminated SAM was further compared to a mixed monolayer of ω-substituted methyl- and hydroxyl-terminated alkanethiols with wetting properties and surface ratio of hydroxyl to methyl groups matching that of the galactoside. The settlement (initial attachment) and adhesion strength of four model marine fouling organisms were investigated, representing both micro- and macrofoulers; two bacteria (Cobetia marina and Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus), barnacle cypris larvae (Balanus amphitrite), and algal zoospores (Ulva linza). The minimum in protein adsorption onto the partially methylated galactoside surface was partly reproduced in the marine fouling assays, providing some support for a relationship between protein resistance and adhesion of marine fouling organisms. The mixed alkanethiol SAM, which was matched in wettability to the partially methylated galactoside SAM, consistently showed higher settlement (initial attachment) of test organisms than the galactoside, implying that both wettability and surface chemistry are insufficient to explain differences in fouling resistance. We suggest that differences in the structure of interfacial water may explain the variation in adhesion to these SAMs.

A range of titanium doped diamond-like carbon (Ti-DLC) coatings with different Ti contents were prepared on stainless steel substrates using a plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition technique. It was found that both the electron donor surface energy and the surface roughness of the Ti-DLC coatings increased with increasing Ti contents in the coatings. Bacterial adhesion to the coatings was evaluated against Escherichia coli WT F1693 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 33347. The experimental data showed that bacterial adhesion decreased with the increases of the Ti content, the electron donor surface energy and surface roughness of the coatings, while the bacterial removal percentage increased with the increases of these parameters. The Ti-DLC coatings reduced bacterial attachment by up to 75% and increased bacterial detachment from 15 to 45%, compared with stainless steel control.

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