The effect of albumin on the wettability of pure metal and metal oxide surfaces

Abstract

The captive air bubble technique was used to examine the effect of albumin adsorption and desorption on the wettability of a range of pure metal and oxide ceramic surfaces. Most of the metals and oxides had very hydrophilic surfaces and the contact angles were not significantly affected by the adsorption or desorption of protein. Silver and gold, however, had higher contact angles in buffer solutions and these were significantly reduced following protein adsorption. A slight increase again was observed under the desorption conditions studied.