Matching the nano- to the meso-scale: Measuring deposit–surface interactions with atomic force microscopy and micromanipulation

▶ Micromanipulation and atomic force microscopy have been compared as ways of studying how deposits adhere to surfaces. ▶ For a range of deposits and surfaces, the two methods show similar results. ▶ For most systems, fluorinated surfaces show the least adhesion. ▶ However, ‘turkish delight’, an aga...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Food and bioproducts processing 2010-12, Vol.88 (4), p.341-348
Main Authors: Akhtar, N., Bowen, J., Asteriadou, K., Robbins, P.T., Zhang, Z., Fryer, P.J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
AFM
Atomic force microscopy
Biological and medical sciences
Cleaning
Confectionary products
Food industries
Food processing
Foods
Fouling
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Mathematical models
Micromanipulation
Nanostructure
Soils
Surface energy
Surfaces
Toothpaste
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:▶ Micromanipulation and atomic force microscopy have been compared as ways of studying how deposits adhere to surfaces. ▶ For a range of deposits and surfaces, the two methods show similar results. ▶ For most systems, fluorinated surfaces show the least adhesion. ▶ However, ‘turkish delight’, an agar-based deposit, is most adhesive to a fluorinated surface. Many researchers have studied the effects of changing the surface on fouling and cleaning. In biofouling the ‘Baier curve’ is a well-known result which relates adhesion to surface energy, and papers on the effect of changing surface energy to food fouling can be found more than 40 years ago. Recently the use of modified surfaces, at least at a research level, has been widespread. Here two different ways of studying surface–deposit interactions have been compared. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a method for probing interactions at a molecular level, and can measure (for example) the interaction between substrate and surfaces at a nm-scale. At a μm–mm level, we have developed a micromanipulation tool that can measure the force required to remove the deposit; the measure incorporates both surface and bulk deformation effects. The two methods have been compared by studying a range of model soils: toothpaste, as an example of a soil that can be removed by fluid flow alone, and confectionery soils. Removal has been studied from glass, stainless steel and fluorinated surfaces as examples of the sort of surfaces that can be found in practice. AFM measurements were made by using functionalized tips in force mode. The two types of probe give similar results, although the rheology of the soil affects the measurement from the micromanipulation probe under some circumstances. The data suggests that either method could be used to test candidate surfaces.
ISSN:0960-3085
1744-3571
DOI:10.1016/j.fbp.2010.08.006