Yes / The paper reports an investigation on the mechanical durability of textured thermoplastic surfaces together with their respective wetting properties. A range of laser-induced topographies with different aspect ratios from micro to nanoscale were fabricated on tool steel inserts using an ultrashort pulsed near infrared laser. Then, through micro-injection moulding the topographies were replicated onto polypropylene surfaces and their durability was studied systematically. In particular, the evolution of topographies on textured thermoplastic surfaces together with their wetting properties were investigated after undergoing a controlled mechanical abrasion, i.e. reciprocating dry and wet cleaning cycles. The obtained empirical data was used both to study the effects of cleaning cycles and also to identify cleaning procedures with a minimal impact on textured thermoplastic surfaces and their respective wetting properties. In addition, the use of 3D areal parameters that are standardised and could be obtained readily with any state-of-the-art surface characterisation system are discussed for monitoring the surfaces’ functional response. / The full-text of this article will be released for public view at the end of the publisher embargo on 23 Jan 2020.

Os dentifrícios dessensibilizantes que obliteram os túbulos dentinários atuam por meio do depósito de minerais na superfície e nos túbulos da dentina, o que pode provocar alteração nas propriedades de adesão da superfície dental, como a molhabilidade do substrato pelo adesivo. Assim, o objetivo do estudo foi avaliar o efeito do dentifrício dessensibilizante sobre a molhabilidade da dentina erodida e analisar a topografia da dentina tratada por meio da Microscopia Confocal a Laser antes e depois do condicionamento ácido. Oitenta fragmentos de dentina bovina (7mm X 7mm), foram planificados, polidos e imersos em 10mL de ácido cítrico (pH = 3,2) durante 2 horas. Os espécimes foram divididos aleatoriamente de acordo com o dentifrício utilizado: dentifrício sem ação dessensibilizante (fluoreto de sódio) - controle (D1); arginina 8% e carbonato de cálcio - Colgate® Sensitive Pró-Alívio (D2); fosfosilicato de cálcio e sódio - Novamin®-Sensodyne® Repair & Protect (D3); acetato de estrôncio 8% - Sensodyne® Rápido Alívio (D4) e tempo de simulação de escovação de 7 dias (T1) e 21 dias (T2). Os corpos de prova foram submetidos a ciclos de escovação mecânica de 3 e 9 minutos, equivalente a 7 e 21 dias de escovação, 3 vezes ao dia, respectivamente, com escova macia. O condicionamento da dentina foi realizado com ácido fosfórico 37% por 15 segundos. Uma gota do sistema adesivo Single Bond Universal (3M) foi depositada na superfície de cada espécime e o ângulo de contato entre a superfície da dentina e o sistema adesivo foi medido utilizando um Goniômetro. Doze novos corpos de prova (n = 3) foram escovados nas mesmas condições experimentais por 21 dias e a topografia da dentina foi observada com Microscópio Confocal a Laser, antes e após o condicionamento ácido das superfícies escovadas. Os dados foram submetidos a Análise de Variância (ANOVA) a dois fatores (p>0,05). Não houve diferença entre o ângulo de contato obtido na dentina erodida submetida à escovação com os dentifrícios dessensibilizantes. Os resultados demonstraram que o fator tempo foi estatisticamente significante (p<0,05) sob a variável molhabilidade, enquanto o fator tratamento isoladamente bem como a sua interação com o tempo não tiveram efeito estatisticamente significante na variável do estudo (p&ge; .05). Portanto, conclui-se que uso de dentifrícios dessensibilizantes não interfere na molhabilidade da dentina erodida após 7 e 21 dias de escovação e o fator tempo de escovação, isoladamente, determinou redução da molhabilidade após 21 dias. / Desensitizing dentifrices that occlude dentinal tubules act by mineral deposition on the surface and inside dentinal tubules, which may cause may cause changes in the adhesion properties of the dental surface, such as the substrate wettability by adhesive systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of desensitizing dentifrices on the wettability and topographic analysis of eroded dentin. Eighty fragments of bovine dentin (7mmX7mm) were planned, polished and immersed in 10mL of 0,3% citric acid (pH=3,2) during 2 hours. The specimens were randomly divided in eight groups according to the desensitizing agent: sodium fluoride - control (C); 8% arginine and calcium carbonate (DA1); sodium calcium phosphosilicate (DA2); and strontium acetate (DA3) and brushing time simulation (7 and 21 days). The specimens were submitted to mechanic brushing cycles of 3 and 9 minutes, equivalents to 7 and 21 days of brushing, three times a day, with a soft brush. Dentin etch with 37% phosphoric acid for 15 seconds and then washed for 30 seconds. A drop of 10&micro;L adhesive system Single Bond Universal (3M ESPE) were placed on each specimen surface and the contact angle between dentin surface and adhesive system were measured using a Goniometer. Twelve other specimens (n=3) were brushed under the same experimental conditions for 21 days and the dentin topography was observed with Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope, before and after etch of the brushed dentin surfaces. Data were summited to 2-way ANOVA analysis and the results presented that the time factor had a statistically significant effect (p <0.05) on the wettability variable, while the treatment factor alone and the interaction between treatment and time factors, had no statistically significant effect on the variable study (p &ge; 0.05). Therefore, the use of desensitizing dentifrices did not interfere with the wettability of etched dentin after 7 and 21 days of brushing. Brushing time factor, alone, determined reduction of wettability after 21 days.

O íntimo contato entre osso e implante é considerado um pré-requisito fundamental para o sucesso dos implantes dentários, condição esta conhecida como osseointegração. Devido a isto, um grande número de pesquisas com tratamentos de superfícies de implantes vem sendo desenvolvido por várias empresas nos últimos anos, visando acelerar esse fenômeno. O objetivo deste trabalho é avaliar histomorfometricamente o percentual de contato osso-implante (BIC) e área de osso novo (BA) entre implantes de tratamento de superfície Neoporos (GC - hidrofóbico) e implantes com energia de superfície molhada Acqua (GE - hidrofílicos). Foram utilizados 15 coelhos da raça new zealand, que receberam 30 implantes divididos em cada lado de suas tíbias direita e esquerda, ambos de titânio comercialmente puro grau IV com 3.5x8mm de dimensão, sendo ao final de 15 dias, a região dos implantes coletada e processada histologicamente para obtenção de cortes teciduais não desmineralizados, embora dois implantes do grupo Esm tenham sido excluídos da pesquisa devido à instalação ter ocorrido dentro do canal medular e terem obtido tecido necrosado, não cumprindo as características de osseointegração. Para análise dos dados estatísticos, utilizou-se o teste t de Students para amostras independents e teste Mann-Whitney Rank Sum com nível de significância de p<0.05. Os resultados mostraram que não houve diferença estatisticamente significante entre os grupos para a análise de BIC. O grupo GC apresentou a média de 42.9% de BIC, ligeiramente menor que o grupo GE, que apresentou 49.3% de média. Já para o teste BA houve diferenças de 15%, em que o grupo GC apresentou 58.6% e o grupo GE, 74.4%. A conclusão é que há, ainda, necessidade de maiores estudos a cerca do referido tema. / The near contact between bone and implant is considered an essential pre-requisite for the success of dental implants, a condition known as osseointegration. Due to it, a great amount of researches on implants surface treatments has been developed by several companies in recent years to accelerate the phenomenon of osseointegration. The aim of the present study is to evaluate histomorphometrically the percentage of bone-implants contact (BIC) and the area of new bone (BA) between implants with surfaces treatment Neoporos (GC - hydrophobic) and implants with wets surface energy Acqua (GE - hydrophilic). It was used fifteen (n=15) New Zealand rabbits, which received thirty implants installed dividing them between its right and left tibias. Implants were commercially pure titanium grade IV with 3.5x8mm dimension. After fifteen days, the implants area were collected and processed histologically in order to obtain not demineralized tissue sections. For statistical data analysis, it was used the t test for independents samples and Mann-Whitney Rank Sum test. The significance level was p<0.05. Results showed no statistical significant difference between groups for BIC analysis. The control group showed a mean of 42.9% of BIC, slightly lower than the GE group, which showed a mean of 49.3%. For BA test, there was a significant difference of more than 15% in the control group (58.6% for the GC group and 74.4% for GE group). It was concluded that futher studies is needed on this topic of osseointegration and hydrophobic /hydrophilic implants.

Os dentifrícios dessensibilizantes que obliteram os túbulos dentinários atuam por meio do depósito de minerais na superfície e nos túbulos da dentina, o que pode provocar alteração nas propriedades de adesão da superfície dental, como a molhabilidade do substrato pelo adesivo. Assim, o objetivo do estudo foi avaliar o efeito do dentifrício dessensibilizante sobre a molhabilidade da dentina erodida e analisar a topografia da dentina tratada por meio da Microscopia Confocal a Laser antes e depois do condicionamento ácido. Oitenta fragmentos de dentina bovina (7mm X 7mm), foram planificados, polidos e imersos em 10mL de ácido cítrico (pH = 3,2) durante 2 horas. Os espécimes foram divididos aleatoriamente de acordo com o dentifrício utilizado: dentifrício sem ação dessensibilizante (fluoreto de sódio) - controle (D1); arginina 8% e carbonato de cálcio - Colgate® Sensitive Pró-Alívio (D2); fosfosilicato de cálcio e sódio - Novamin®-Sensodyne® Repair & Protect (D3); acetato de estrôncio 8% - Sensodyne® Rápido Alívio (D4) e tempo de simulação de escovação de 7 dias (T1) e 21 dias (T2). Os corpos de prova foram submetidos a ciclos de escovação mecânica de 3 e 9 minutos, equivalente a 7 e 21 dias de escovação, 3 vezes ao dia, respectivamente, com escova macia. O condicionamento da dentina foi realizado com ácido fosfórico 37% por 15 segundos. Uma gota do sistema adesivo Single Bond Universal (3M) foi depositada na superfície de cada espécime e o ângulo de contato entre a superfície da dentina e o sistema adesivo foi medido utilizando um Goniômetro. Doze novos corpos de prova (n = 3) foram escovados nas mesmas condições experimentais por 21 dias e a topografia da dentina foi observada com Microscópio Confocal a Laser, antes e após o condicionamento ácido das superfícies escovadas. Os dados foram submetidos a Análise de Variância (ANOVA) a dois fatores (p>0,05). Não houve diferença entre o ângulo de contato obtido na dentina erodida submetida à escovação com os dentifrícios dessensibilizantes. Os resultados demonstraram que o fator tempo foi estatisticamente significante (p<0,05) sob a variável molhabilidade, enquanto o fator tratamento isoladamente bem como a sua interação com o tempo não tiveram efeito estatisticamente significante na variável do estudo (p&ge; .05). Portanto, conclui-se que uso de dentifrícios dessensibilizantes não interfere na molhabilidade da dentina erodida após 7 e 21 dias de escovação e o fator tempo de escovação, isoladamente, determinou redução da molhabilidade após 21 dias. / Desensitizing dentifrices that occlude dentinal tubules act by mineral deposition on the surface and inside dentinal tubules, which may cause may cause changes in the adhesion properties of the dental surface, such as the substrate wettability by adhesive systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of desensitizing dentifrices on the wettability and topographic analysis of eroded dentin. Eighty fragments of bovine dentin (7mmX7mm) were planned, polished and immersed in 10mL of 0,3% citric acid (pH=3,2) during 2 hours. The specimens were randomly divided in eight groups according to the desensitizing agent: sodium fluoride - control (C); 8% arginine and calcium carbonate (DA1); sodium calcium phosphosilicate (DA2); and strontium acetate (DA3) and brushing time simulation (7 and 21 days). The specimens were submitted to mechanic brushing cycles of 3 and 9 minutes, equivalents to 7 and 21 days of brushing, three times a day, with a soft brush. Dentin etch with 37% phosphoric acid for 15 seconds and then washed for 30 seconds. A drop of 10&micro;L adhesive system Single Bond Universal (3M ESPE) were placed on each specimen surface and the contact angle between dentin surface and adhesive system were measured using a Goniometer. Twelve other specimens (n=3) were brushed under the same experimental conditions for 21 days and the dentin topography was observed with Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope, before and after etch of the brushed dentin surfaces. Data were summited to 2-way ANOVA analysis and the results presented that the time factor had a statistically significant effect (p <0.05) on the wettability variable, while the treatment factor alone and the interaction between treatment and time factors, had no statistically significant effect on the variable study (p &ge; 0.05). Therefore, the use of desensitizing dentifrices did not interfere with the wettability of etched dentin after 7 and 21 days of brushing. Brushing time factor, alone, determined reduction of wettability after 21 days.

Este trabalho aborda a molhabilidade de apatita por água em temperatura ambiente (20-25°C) objetivando contribuir para um melhor entendimento de seu comportamento em sistemas de flotação. Água, devido às fortes forças atrativas entre suas moléculas, não espalha completamente sobre sólidos de baixa energia como apatita pré-tratada com surfatantes aniônicos de cadeia longa. Este comportamento é explorado por engenheiros de processamento mineral para separar apatita de minerais de ganga via flotação aniônica direta em circuitos industriais ao redor do mundo. Nesta tese, a molhabilidade de apatita (tratada ou não com oleato de sódio-NaOl em pH=10,5) foi caracterizada pelo ângulo de contato de avanço da água (TETAa), trabalho de adesão (Wa) da água sobre apatita e coeficiente de espalhamento (S) de água sobre o sólido. Medidas diretas de TETAa sobre os planos frontal (010) e basal (001) de um cristal de apatita bem definido proveniente de Ipirá- BA (apatita-Ipirá) foram executadas pelo Método da Bolha Cativa (MBC), enquanto determinações indiretas de TETAa foram realizadas pelo Método da Ascensão Capilar (MAC) através da percolação de líquidos (água e/ou metanol) através de leitos partículas de apatita-Ipirá ou apatita-Cajati (proveniente de Cajati-SP). No MAC, o uso de hexano foi adequado para determinar a magnitude da constante de empacotamento (c) para partículas de apatita de baixa molhabilidade (TETAa>>0°), enquanto que a água se mostrou mais apropriada para ser usada na determinação da constante c para partículas de apatita não tratadas com surfatantes (TETAa~0o). Ensaios de microflotação foram conduzidos com apatita-Ipirá em pH=10,5 e com NaOl (0-75mg/L) enquanto ensaios de flotação gama foram executados com minério de fosfato proveniente de Cajati-SP previamente tratado com amido (37,5mg/L) e alquil sarcosinato de sódio-Berol®867 (25mg/L) em pH=10,6. Os resultados das medidas de TETAa e dos ensaios de microflotação indicaram uma relação de causa-efeito entre a concentração de NaOl (0-75mg/L), molhabilidade de apatita-Ipirá e sua resposta à microflotação: as maiores recuperações foram obtidas com as maiores concentrações do coletor NaOl, maiores valores de TETAa, menores valores de Wa e valores mais negativos de S. Os valores de TETAa diretamente medidos sobre as faces de um cristal de apatita-Ipirá pelo MBC mostrou que NaOl adsorve preferencialmente sobre o plano (010) comparado ao plano (001). Além disso, a tensão superficial crítica de molhabilidade (GAMAc) da apatita-Ipirá, pré-tratada com 75mg/L de NaOl, foi de 30,2erg/cm2 para o plano (001) versus 29,6erg/cm2 para o plano (010). Após serem condicionadas com reagentes de flotação (amido=37,5mg/L e Berol®867=25mg/L em pH=10,6) e flotadas em estágio rougher, partículas de apatita-Cajati exibiram TETAa=64.2°±1.1°. O valor de GAMAc, determinado via experimentos de flotação gama foi GAMAc~34,5erg/cm2; enquanto GAMAc determinado por diagramas cosTETA x GAMALV foi de GAMAc~33,9erg/cm2. Os resultados de flotação gama com o minério de fosfato de Cajati mostrou um platô de máxima recuperação de apatita (95-98%) quando 52,7erg/cm2<GAMALV<72,9erg/cm2. Ao contrário da apatita, a recuperação dos minerais de ganga (silicatos e carbonatos) foi estritamente ascendente com o aumento de GAMALV. A maior Eficiência de Separação apatita/ganga (E.S. = recuperação de apatita menos a recuperação de ganga) foi obtida em GAMALV=50,5erg/cm2 para apatita/silicatos e em GAMALV=51,4erg/cm2 para apatita/carbonatos. Os resultados dos experimentos de flotação gama indicaram que, no circuito industrial de Cajati-SP, GAMALV pode ser modulada pela dosagem do coletor, e sua magnitude pode guiar engenheiros na tomada de decisões a respeito da dosagem de coletor que promova a maior seletividade de separação apatita/ganga. Entretanto, a falta de instrumentos apropriados para realizar medidas on-line confiáveis de GAMALV tem impedido a execução destas medidas em circuitos industriais. Deste modo, decisões a respeito da dosagem do coletor feitas pelos engenheiros continuam a ser baseadas em uma abordagem empírica ao invés de científica. / This work approaches the wetting of apatite by water at room temperature (20-25°C) aiming at to contribute towards a better understanding of its behavior in flotation systems. Water, because of its powerful attractive forces, does not readily spread over the surface of low energy solids as apatite pre-treated with anionic long chain surfactants. This behavior is exploited by mineral processing engineers to separate apatite from gangue minerals via direct anionic flotation in industrial plants around the world. In this thesis, the wettability of apatite (treated or not with sodium oleate- NaOl at pH=10.5) was characterized by the advancing water contact angle (TETAa), work of adhesion (Wa) of water to apatite and the spreading coefficient (S) of water over the solid. Direct measurements of TETAa on either frontal-(010) or basal-(001) planes of a well formed apatite crystal from Ipirá-BA (apatite-Ipirá) were carried out via Captive Bubble (CB) method, whereas indirect determinations of TETAa were accomplished via Capillary Rise (CR) method by means of percolation of liquids (water and/or methanol) through particle beds of apatite-Ipirá and apatite-Cajati (from Cajati-SP). At CR method, the use of hexane was adequate to determine the magnitude of packing constant (c) for apatite particles of low wettability (TETAa>>0o), whereas water proved to be more appropriate to be used in the determination constant c for apatite particles non-treated with surfactants (TETAa~0o). Microflotation tests were conducted with apatite-Ipirá at pH=10.5 with NaOl (0-75mg/L) whereas gamma flotation tests were carried out with phosphate ore from Cajati-SP previously treated with starch (37.5mg/L) and sodium alkyl sarcosinate-Berol®867 (25mg/L) at pH=10.6. Results from measurements of TETAa and microflotation experiments indicated a cause-effect relationship between concentration of NaOl (0-75mg/L), wettability of apatite-Ipirá and its microflotation response: the highest recoveries were yielded at higher concentration of collector NaOl, higher values of TETAa, lower values of Wa and more negative the values of S. Values of TETAa directly measured on the faces of a crystal of apatite-Ipirá by CB method showed that NaOl adsorbs preferentially onto (010) plane compared to (001) plane. Moreover, the critical surface tension of wettability (GAMAc) of apatite-Ipirá, pre-treated with 75mg/L of NaOl, was 30.2erg/cm2 for (001)-plane versus 29.6erg/cm2 for (010)-plane. After being conditioned with flotation reagents (starch=37.5mg/L and Berol®867=25mg/L at pH=10.6) and floated at rougher stage, particles of apatite-Cajati exhibited TETAa=64.2o±1.1o. The value of GAMAc, determined via gamma flotation experiments was GAMAc~34.5erg/cm2; whereas GAMAc determined by cosTETA x GAMALV plots was GAMAc~33.9erg/cm2. Results from gamma flotation experiments with phosphate ore from Cajati showed a plateau of maximum apatite recovery (95-98%) when 52.7erg/cm2<GAMALV<72.9erg/cm2. Unlike apatite, the recovery of gangue minerals (silicates and carbonates) was strictly ascending when GAMALV was increased. The highest Efficiency of Separation apatite/gangue (E.S. = recovery of apatite minus recovery of gangue) was attained at GAMALV=50.5erg/cm2 for apatite/silicates and at GAMALV=51.4erg/cm2 for apatite/carbonates. The results from gamma flotation experiments indicate that, at the industrial plant of Cajati-SP, GAMALV can be modulated by collector dosage, and its magnitude can provide guidance to practitioners to make decision on collector dosage to achieve a desired value of GAMALV which promotes the best selectivity of the separation apatite/gangue. Notwithstanding, the lack of suitable instruments to accomplish on-line reliable measurements of GAMALV has been hindering the implementation of those measurements at industrial circuits. This way, decisions on collector dosage made by practitioners continue to be based rather on empirical than on scientific approach.

Physics of immiscible two-phase flow in porous media is relevant for various industrial and environmental applications. Wettability defined as the relative affinity of fluids with the solid surface has a significant impact on the dynamics of immiscible displacement. Although wettability effects on the macroscopic fluid flow behaviour are well known, there is a lack of pore-scale understanding. Considering the crucial role of wettability in a diverse range of applications; this research aims to provide a pore-scale picture of interface configuration induced by variations in the wetting characteristics of porous media. Besides, this study also relates the pore-scale interfacial phenomena with the macroscopic response of fluids. High-resolution direct numerical simulations (DNS) at multiscale (single capillary and a highly heterogeneous porous media) were performed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach in which the Navier-Stokes equation coupled with the volume of fluid method is solved to represent immiscible displacement. Numerical results demonstrate that at pore scale as the wettability of porous media changes from strong to intermediate wet the effects of pore geometry (that includes corner angle and orientation angle) on the interfacial dynamics also enhances. This was demonstrated by the non-monotonic behaviour of entry capillary pressure at the junction of pore, curvature reversal in the converging-diverging capillary and the co-existence of concave and convex interfaces in heterogeneous porous media with uniform contact angle distribution. In addition to simulations, theoretical argument is also presented that rationalize the underlying physics of complex, yet intriguing interfacial phenomena shown by DNS. Overall this research extends the fundamental understanding of multiphase flow in porous media and paves the way for future studies on porous media.

Interaction of a liquid droplet and a fiber or layer of fibers is ubiquitous in nature and in a variety of industrial applications. It plays a crucial role in fog harvesting, coalescence filtration, membrane desalination, self-cleaning and fiber based microfluidics, among many others. This work presents a quantitative investigation on the interactions of a droplet with a fiber or layers of fibers. More precisely, the present work is focused on 1) predicting the effects of fiber’s size and material on its ability to withhold a droplet against external forces and on the liquid residue left on the fiber after the droplet detachment, 2) predicting the outcome of two fibers competing to attract the same droplet, and 3) predicting the wetting stability of a droplet deposited on a layer of electrospun fibers. This work is comprised of series of computational and experimental studies for mutual validation and/or calibration. The simulations were conducted using the Surface Evolver code and the experiments were devised using a ferrofluid and a magnet. We also investigated the drag reduction performance of fibrous coatings because of its close connection with droplet-fiber interaction. We started by studying the drag reduction performance of a superhydrophobic granular coating because of its geometrical simplicity. We modeled the flow of water over the granular coating and studied the effects of hydrostatic pressure and microstructural properties on the drag reduction performance of the coating. We then examined the drag reduction performance of a lubricant infused surface with trapped air made of layers of parallel fibers (FLISTA). A mathematical model was developed to predict the shape of the water-lubricant interface and lubricant-air interface under a given hydrostatic pressure. This information was used to solve the flow field over the coating in a Couette configuration to find the effects of hydrostatic pressure and microstructural properties of the coating on its drag reduction performance.

During the past several decades polymer materials become widely used as components of medical devices and implants such as hemodialysers, bioartificial organs as well as vascular and recombinant surgery. Most of the devices cannot avoid the blood contact in their use. When the polymer materials come in contact with blood they can cause different undesired host responses like thrombosis, inflammatory reactions and infections. Thus the materials must be hemocompatible in order to minimize these undesired body responses. The earliest and one of the main problems in the use of blood-contacting biomaterials is the surface induced thrombosis. The sequence of the thrombus formation on the artificial surfaces has been well established. The first event, which occurs, after exposure of biomaterials to blood, is the adsorption of blood proteins. Surface physicochemical properties of the materials as wettability greatly influence the amount and conformational changes of adsorbed proteins. In turn the type, amount and conformational state of the adsorbed protein layer determines whether platelets will adhere and become activated or not on the artificial surface and thus to complete the thrombus formation. The adsorption of fibrinogen (FNG), which is present in plasma, has been shown to be closely related to surface induced thrombosis by participating in all processes of the thrombus formation such as fibrin formation, platelet adhesion and aggregation. Therefore study the FNG adsorption to artificial surfaces could contribute to better understanding of the mechanisms of platelet adhesion and activation and thus to controlling the surface induced thrombosis. <br /> <br /> Endothelization of the polymer surfaces is one of the strategies for improving the materials hemocompatibility, which is believed to be the most ideal solution for making truly blood-compatible materials. Since at physiological conditions proteins such as FNG and fibronectin (FN) are the usual extracellular matrix (ECM) for endothelial cells (EC) adhesion, precoating of the materials with these proteins has been shown to improve EC adhesion and growth in vitro. ECM proteins play an essential role not only like a structural support for cell adhesion and spreading, but also they are important factor in transmitting signals for different cell functions. The ability of cells to remodel plasma proteins such as FNG and FN in matrix-like structures together with the classical cell parameters such as actin cytoskeleton and focal adhesion formation could be used as an criteria for proper cell functioning. The establishment and the maintaining of delicate balance between cell-cell and cell-substrate contacts is another important factor for better EC colonization of the implants. The functionality of newly established endothelium in order to produce antithromotic substances should be always considered when EC seeding is used for improving the hemocompatibility of the polymer materials. <br /> <br /> Controlling the polymer surface properties such as surface wettability represents a versatile approach to manipulate the above cellular responses and therefore can be used in biomaterial and tissue engineering applications for producing better hemocompatible materials.

To recover oil remaining in petroleum reservoirs after waterflooding, the gravitationally stable mode of gas injection is recognized as a promising tertiary oil recovery process. Understanding the phenomena occurring over the course of the gravity-assisted inert gas injection (GAIGI) process is thus important. Extensive studies on both secondary and tertiary modes of gravity drainage have shown promising results in recovering oil from homogeneous water-wet glass bead packs, sand packs, and sandstone cores, respectively. However, it is not realistic to anticipate similar flow mechanisms and recovery results in all types of reservoirs because the natural hydrocarbon reservoirs are all heterogeneous in terms of their permeability, porosity, and wettability. Such heterogeneities cause irregular displacement patterns, and nonuniform fluid distribution. The impact of heterogeneity of the porous media on the GAIGI process has not been fully addressed in the experimental studies carried out to date; therefore, this thesis aims to fill in the gap of knowledge on this area. The impact of reservoir wettability and pore structure heterogeneities at the macroscopic scale on the recovery efficiency of the GAIGI process was investigated through a systematic experimental study for tertiary recovery of waterflood residual oil. To obtain heterogeneous (in terms of wettability) packings, isolated inclusions of oil-wet consolidated glass beads were embedded in a continuum of unconsolidated water-wet glass beads. Similarly, the heterogeneous porous media exhibiting permeability heterogeneity consisted of large-pore-size isolated regions randomly distributed in a small-pore-size continuum. Upon waterflooding, significantly higher waterflood residual oil saturation was established in both cases of heterogeneous media in comparison to water-wet homogeneous porous media. The amount of waterflood residual oil varied linearly with the volume fraction of heterogeneities in the packings. Experimental results obtained from tertiary gravity drainage experiments demonstrated that the continuity of water-wet portions of the heterogeneous porous media facilitates the residual oil recovery through the film flow mechanism, provided that the oil spreading coefficient is positive. In addition, owing to the high waterflood residual oil content of the heterogeneous media tested, the oil bank formation occurred earlier and grew faster than that in homogeneous media, resulting in a higher oil recovery factor. However, the favorable wettability conditions in both the homogeneous and heterogeneous porous media exhibiting permeability heterogeneity resulted in slightly lower reduced residual oil saturation after the GAIGI process compared to that in the heterogeneous media with wettability heterogeneity under the same condition of withdrawal rate. In addition, the oil recovery factor at gas breakthrough was found to be inversely related to the production rate due to the functionality of gravity and viscous forces over the course of gravity drainage. These two forces were combined into a dimensionless form, defined as the gravity number (Ngv=Kogg/oVpg). It was discovered that there is a correlation between the oil recovery factor at gas breakthrough and the gravity number for both the heterogeneous and homogeneous media. The correlation of recovery factor at gas breakthrough versus the gravity number in heterogeneous media followed a similar trend as that found for homogeneous water-wet porous media. However, at a given gravity number, the recovery factor in heterogeneous media was greater than that in the homogeneous media. This implies that heterogeneous media will be better target reservoirs for applying the GAIGI process compared to the homogeneous reservoirs.

The primary objective of this study was to quantify and characterise lipid deposition on soft (hydrogel) contact lenses, particularly those containing siloxane components. Studies involving a variety of <em>in vitro</em> doping and <em>in vivo</em> worn contact lenses were undertaken, in which lipid deposition was analyzed by either TLC or HPLC. Specific experiments were completed to optimize a method to extract the lipid from the lens materials, to compare the total lipid deposition on nine different hydrogel lenses and to analyze the effect that lipid deposition had on wettability. A method for extracting lipid from contact lenses using 2:1 chloroform: methanol was developed. This study also showed that siloxane-containing contact lens materials differ in the degree to which they deposit lipid, which is dependent upon their chemical composition. Small differences in lipid deposition that occur due to using variations in cleaning regimens were not identifiable through TLC, and required more sophisticated analysis using HPLC. Contact lens material wettability was found to be influenced by <em>in vitro</em> lipid deposition. Specifically, conventional hydrogels and plasma surface-treated silicone-hydrogel materials experienced enhanced wettability with lipid deposition. Reverse-phase HPLC techniques were able to quantify lipid deposits with increased sensitivity and accuracy. From the HPLC studies it was found that contact lens material, concentration of the lipid doping solution, and the composition of the lipid doping solution in <em>in vitro</em> deposition studies influenced the ultimate amount and composition of lipid deposits. <em>In vivo</em> HPLC studies showed that the final lipid deposition pattern was influenced by the interaction between the composition of the tear film and the various silicone hydrogel contact lens materials. In conclusion, HPLC analysis methods were more sensitive and quantitative than TLC. Lipid deposition was ultimately influenced by the concentration and composition of the lipid in the tear film and the contact lens material. Contact lens wettability was influenced by the presence and deposition of lipid onto the contact lens surfaces. Finally, this reverse-phase HPLC lipid analysis protocol was not the most sensitive, robust, or accurate. In the future, other methods of analysis should be explored.