Adhesion and components of solid surface energies

Contact angle data for sets of probe liquids allow the determination of components of solid surface energies which in turn can be used to calculate the work of adhesion of other materials to the solid surface. There is much debate currently about the correct choice of the acid–base components for the probe liquids. For many systems, the strength of adhesion measured independently correlates well with the calculated work of adhesion. Recent trends in this area include adhesion under water and the adhesion of bacterial and other cells to immersed solids.