The Patent Office of the Republic of Poland decided to grant patent to yet another invention by researchers from the University of Gdańsk, this time from the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics. The invention titled ‘Sposób oraz automatyczne urządzenie do ciągłego, nieinwazyjnego pomiaru energii powierzchniowej ciał stałych permanentnie zanurzonych w cieczach’ (Method and automatic device for continuous, non-invasive surface energy measurement of permanently liquid immersed solids), may be used in dental prosthetics and selected research labs.

The patent resulted from research activity of scientists from the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics at the University of Gdańsk: prof. dr hab. Stanisław Pogorzelski and mgr Maciej Grzegorczyk.

The automatic device for continuous, non-invasive surface energy measurement of permanently liquid immersed solids enables specifying the fundamental (for effective coating of solids) value of surface free energy (SFE).

- Only the patent-protected device, designed to measure the dynamic contact angles (CA) with the use of captive bubble method, allows for measuring the SFE of a fully hydrated solid, immersed in an existing, liquid phase (not only water), without any interference from the examined sample (moving, taking out, dehumidifying) – explains prof. dr hab. Stanisław Pogorzelski form the Institute of Experimental Physics of UG Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics.

The surface of a studied solid remains immersed and it is not taken out to measure the CA, contrary to the conventional drop shape methods used, requiring fluid sample and surface preparation.

- The device measures the dynamic contact angles, which enable determining additional wettability parameters, whereas Contact angle hysteresis (CAH) or Π hysteresis provide additional information on the structure of a studied surface, like: degree of porosity, chemical heterogeneity, or surface deposition size – adds prof. dr hab. Stanisław Pogorzelski.

Potential applications of the invention include: dental prosthetics, microbial biofilms, researching condition of anti-corrosion surfaces and various laboratories (maritime, electrochemical, agrochemical, hydrotechnical engineering limnologic and research)

Translation: Adam Myzyk