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Biofilm Resistant Liquid-like Solid Surfaces in Flow Situations

Lead Research Organisation: University of Edinburgh
Department Name: Sch of Engineering

Abstract

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

Publications

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Barrio-Zhang H (2024) Droplet motion driven by humidity gradients during evaporation and condensation. in The European physical journal. E, Soft matter

 
Description Biofilms are a problem in many industries, but have a particularly negative effect on human health due to infections from medical equipment, e.g. catheters. In recent years, a new anti-biofouling strategy has been to use a liquid-lubricated surface, but this is susceptible to lubricant depletion through shear stress from the flow of a liquid across the surface. In our work, we have established for the first time a new strategy using a surface coating which behaves as a liquid in terms of its interaction with a liquid, but which is covalently attached to the surface and so is not depleted by shear stress from the flow of liquids. We now have both hydrophobic and hydrophilic coatings which can be attached to medical-device relevant surfaces which show strong anti-biofouling performance. Several peer reviewed journal reports have been submitted for publication.
Exploitation Route We envisage the new knwoledge on anti-biolfilm surfaces related to health will be taken forwards through the CoI working in medical microbiology and through the coPI's links to various hospital collaborators. We also envisaged that it would be possible to translate our findings into marine anti-biofouling. We therefore established partnerships with Jotun as a leading global paints and coatings company and a major producer of specialty chemicals and with the National Biofilms Innovation Centre (an Innovation Knowledge Centre funded by BBSRC and Innovate UK) to support an EPSRC research application. This was submitted 29 February 2024, but as of March 2025 it has still not been put to panel by EPSRC due to delays arising from the transition to the new RCUK Smarter and Better Funding System.
Sectors Agriculture

Food and Drink

Chemicals

Environment

Healthcare

Manufacturing

including Industrial Biotechology

Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology

Transport

 
Description The work has also been presented in several technology and industry focused forums including a Cambridge Graphene Centre Guest Lecture Seminar (Strategic Research Initiative (SRI) on Quantum and Advanced Materials for a Sustainable Society (QAMSS) University of Cambridge, UK), a SLB (Schulmberger) Eureka Webinar Guest Lecture Seminar (SLB Chemistry and Materials Science Communities) and an International Paint Ltd/AkzoNobel Guest Lecture Seminar (AkzoNobel, Gateshead). It is not possible to say whether this has influenced their own work. The results have also been included within the PIs public understanding initiative (https://www.naturesraincoats.com).
First Year Of Impact 2024
Sector Chemicals,Education,Environment,Transport
Impact Types Societal

Economic

 
Description Loughborough University Principal Investigator 
Organisation Loughborough University
Department Department of Engineering
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Principal and Co-Investigators at Edinburgh University providing expertise and samples with novel surfaces and wettability.
Collaborator Contribution Professor Chen provides biofilm experiments and expertise. She moved to Loughborough in 2024 from Newcastle Unviersity.
Impact See other sections of Research Fish.
Start Year 2024
 
Description Newcastle University Co-Investigator 
Organisation Newcastle University
Country United Kingdom 
PI Contribution Principal and Co-Investigators at Edinburgh University providing expertise and samples with novel surfaces and wettability.
Collaborator Contribution The Newcastle University co-investigator, Professor Nicholas Jakubovics at the School of Dental Sciences, brings in expertise about microbiology and gives professional context for biofilms research, particularly wth regards clinical matters.
Impact See other sections of Research Fish.
Start Year 2021
 
Description Newcastle University Principal Investigator 
Organisation Newcastle University
Country United Kingdom 
PI Contribution Principal and cop-investigators at Edinburgh University providing novel surfaces and expertise in wettability.
Collaborator Contribution Dr. Jinju Chen (Engineering) is the Principal Investigator at Newcastle University. She brings expertise in biofilm experimentation complementing our expertise in novel surface production and surface wettability. The collaboration started before the award because it was necessary to build the relationship and write the proposal.
Impact See other sections of Research Fish.
Start Year 2021
 
Description 2022 - KDF Guest Lecture Seminar, Guandong Technion, Shantou, China (On-line) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact 2022 - KDF Guest Seminar Lecture Seminar
Guandong Technion, Shantou, China (On-line) 26/10/2022

Invited Research Talk - Wettability and Slippery Liquid and Liquid-like Solid Surfaces 26/10/2022
Glen McHale
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description 2022 - Nature Inspired Surface Engineering (NISE 2022) - Liquid-like Solid Surfaces Topic 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact 2022 - Nature Inspired Surface Engineering (NISE 2022) - Liquid-like Solid Surfaces Topic
Seoul, Korea 17/08/2022-19/08/2022
Contributed Research Talk - Contact-Angle Hysteresis and Contact-Line Friction on Slippery Liquid-like Surfaces 19/08/2022
Hernan Barrio-Zhang
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://ameriscience.org/nise-2021/
 
Description 2022 - Workshop on Droplet and Flow Interactions with Bio-inspired and Smart Surfaces Durham, UK 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact 2022 - Workshop on Droplet and Flow Interactions with Bio-inspired and Smart Surfaces
Durham, UK 14/11/2022-15/11/22

Contributed Research Talk - Statics and dynamic friction of droplets on solid surfaces 15/11/2022
Hernan Barrio-Zhang
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description 2023 - 10th International Congress on Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ICIAM) 2023 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact 2023 - 10th International Congress on Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ICIAM) 2023
Mini-symposium [00781] Physical and Mathematical Research on Transport on Slippery Surfaces
Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan, 20/08/2023-25/08/2023

Solicited Research Talk - Experimental Applications of Slippery Liquid and Liquid-like-Solid Surfaces 23/08/23
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://iciam2023.org/
 
Description 2023 - 2023 CSC Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact 2. 2023 - 2023 CSC Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition
Vancouver, Canada 4/06/2023-8/06/2023

Invited Keynote Talk - Wettability, Liquid Friction and Slippery Liquid and Liquid-like Surfaces 07/06/23
Glen McHale
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.cheminst.ca/conference/canadian-chemistry-conference-and-exhibition-2023/
 
Description 2023 - APS DFD 76th Annual Meeting - Slippery Surfaces Topic 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact 2023 - APS DFD 76th Annual Meeting - Slippery Surfaces Topic
Washington DC, USA 19/11/2023-21/11/2023

Contributed Research Talk (Hernan) - Contact-Angle Hysteresis and Contact-Line Friction on Slippery Liquid-like Surfaces 19/11/23
Hernan Barrio-Zhang
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.2023apsdfd.org/?_gl=1%2A1qsu8zd%2A_ga%2AMTE2NDkxMzY3LjE2OTY3ODIwNDI.%2A_ga_1CCM6YP0WF%2A...
 
Description 2023 - Hubei University Guest Lecture Seminar 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact 2023 - Hubei University Guest Lecture Seminar
Hubei Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials, Hubei University, Wuhan, China 15/10/2023

Invited Research Talk - Surfaces Slippery to Liquids 15/10/23
Glen McHale
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description 2023 - ICBE2023 - 7th International Conference of Bionic Engineering 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact 2023 - ICBE2023 - 7th International Conference of Bionic Engineering
Wuhan, China 12/10/2023-15/12/2023

Invited Keynote Talk - Wettability, Adhesion and Liquid Friction 14/10/23
Glen McHale
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.icbe2022.net/En/Default
 
Description 2023 - Institute for Liquid Atomization and Spray Systems - ILASS Europe 2023 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact 2023 - Institute for Liquid Atomization and Spray Systems - ILASS Europe 2023
Naples, Italy 4/09/2023-7/09/2023

Invited Keynote Talk - Wettability, Liquid Friction and Surfaces Slippery to Liquids 4/09/23
Glen McHale
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://ilasseurope.org/events/ilass-europe-2023-4-7-september-2023-naples-italy/
 
Description 2023 - Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) Workshop "Development Of Smart Surfaces with Antimicrobial Properties" 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact 2023 - Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) Workshop "Development Of Smart Surfaces with Antimicrobial Properties"
University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK 01/03/2023

Invited Research Talk - Wettability and Anti-Biofouling Surfaces 01/03/23
and roundtable discussions
Glen McHale
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description 2023 - Leeds Institute for Fluid Dynamics (LIFD) Symposium, 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact 2023 - Leeds Institute for Fluid Dynamics (LIFD) Symposium,
Centre for Doctoral Training in Fluid Dynamics, Leeds University, UK 14/06/2023

Invited Keynote Talk - Leeds Institute for Fluid Dynamics 14/06/23
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description 2023 - UK Fluids Conference - Slippery Concepts Topic 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact 2023 - UK Fluids Conference - Slippery Concepts Topic
Glasgow, UK 17/09/2023-19/09/2023
Contributed Research Talk (Zhang SSD-003)- Contact-Angle Hysteresis and Contact-Line Friction on Slippery Liquid-like Surfaces 19/09/2023
Hernan Barrio-Zhang
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.gla.ac.uk/events/conferences/ukfc2023/
 
Description 2023 - University of Alberta Guest Lecture Seminar, 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact 2023 - University of Alberta Guest Lecture Seminar,
Department of Chemical & Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada 27/11/2023

Invited Research Talk - Wetting, friction and adhesion of droplets on liquid and liquid-like surfaces 27/11/22
Glen McHale
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description 2023- UK Colloids 2023 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact 2023- UK Colloids 2023
University of Liverpool, Liverpool UK 17/07/2023-19/07/2023

Invited Keynote Talk - Super Slippery Surfaces: Wetting on liquid and liquid-like surfaces 17/07/23
Glen McHale
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.constableandsmith.com/events/uk-colloids-202
 
Description 2024 - 2024 Australasian Colloid and Interface Symposium 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact 2024 - 2024 Australasian Colloid and Interface Symposium
Terrigal, Australia 4/02/2024-7/02/2023
Invited Keynote Talk - Wettability, Liquid Friction and Surfaces Slippery to Liquids 06/02/24
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description 2024 - 24th International Symposium on Advanced Bionics (ISAB 2024), ISBE International Symposium with ISO/TC 266 Biomimetics, Changchun, China 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact 2024 - 24th International Symposium on Advanced Bionics (ISAB 2024), ISBE International Symposium with ISO/TC 266 Biomimetics, Changchun, China
Changchun, China 10/09/2024-13/09/2024
Invited Plenary Talk - Wettability, Liquid Friction and Surfaces Slippery to Liquids 12/09/24
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description 2024 - APS Division of Fluid Dynamics, 77th Annual Meeting 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact 2024 - APS Division of Fluid Dynamics, 77th Annual Meeting2024 - APS Division of Fluid Dynamics, 77th Annual Meeting
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, 24/11/2024-26/11/2024
Contributed Research Talk - Siliconization to create liquid-like coatings for medically-relevant surfaces 25/11/24
(Hernán Barrio-Zhang)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description 2024 - Aalto University Guest Lecture Seminar 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact 2024 - Aalto University Guest Lecture Seminar
Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University, Edmonton, Finland 1/01/2024
Invited Research Talk - Liquid Friction, Wettability and Surfaces Slippery to Liquids 11/01/24
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description 2024 - Cambridge Graphene Centre Guest Lecture Seminar 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact 2024 - Cambridge Graphene Centre Guest Lecture Seminar
Strategic Research Initiative (SRI) on Quantum and Advanced Materials for a Sustainable Society (QAMSS)
University of Cambridge, UK, 23/02/2024
Invited Advanced Technology Lecture - Liquid Friction, Wettability and Surfaces Slippery to Liquids 23/02/24
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description 2024 - International Paint Ltd/AkzoNobel Guest Lecture Seminar 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact 2024 - International Paint Ltd/AkzoNobel Guest Lecture Seminar
AkzoNobel, Gateshead, UK 5/06/2024
Invited Research Talk - Wettability and Liquid Friction of Liquid and Liquid-like Surfaces 05/06/24
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description 2024 - Jilin University Guest Undergraduate Lecture 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact 2024 - Jilin University Guest Undergraduate Lecture
Jilin University, Changchun, China 11/09/2024
Invited Research Talk - Water: A Tale of Two Surfaces 11/09/24
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description 2024 - McGill University Guest Lecture Seminar 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact 2024 - McGill University Guest Lecture Seminar
Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Canada 11/12/2024
Invited Research Talk - New Paradigms in Surfaces Slippery to Liquids 11/12/24
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description 2024 - Nature Inspired Surface Engineering (NISE) 2024 (Poster) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact 2024 - Nature Inspired Surface Engineering (NISE) 2024 (Poster)
Granada, Spain 20/11/2024-22/11/2024

Contributed Research Poster - Amontons'-Like Laws for Droplet Friction on Solids 20/11/24
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description 2024 - Newcastle University Guest Lecture Seminar 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact 2024 - Newcastle University Guest Lecture Seminar
Applied Mathematics Group, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK 29/11/2024

Invited Research Talk - Liquid Friction, Wettability and Surfaces Slippery to Liquids 29/11/24
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description 2024 - Norwegian University of Science and Technology Guest Lecture Seminar 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact 2024 - Norwegian University of Science and Technology Guest Lecture Seminar
Nanomechanical Laboratory, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway 12/3/2024
Invited Research Talk (Online) - Liquid Friction, Wettability and Surfaces Slippery to Liquids 12/03/24
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description 2024 - SLB Eureka Webinar Guest Lecture Seminar 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact 2024 - SLB Eureka Webinar Guest Lecture Seminar
SLB Chemistry and Materials Science Communities 2/4/2024
Invited Research Talk (Online) - New Paradigms in Surfaces Slippery to Liquids 2/04/24
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description 2024 - Toronto University Guest Lecture Seminar 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact 2024 - Toronto University Guest Lecture Seminar
Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Toronto University, Toronto, Canada 12/12/2024
Invited Research Talk - New Paradigms in Surfaces Slippery to Liquids 12/12/24
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description 2024 - University of New South Wales Guest Lecture Seminar 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact 2024 - University of New South Wales Guest Lecture Seminar
School of Materials Science & Engineering, University of New South Wales, Australia 2/02/2024
Invited Research Talk - Nature-Inspired Strategies for Surfaces Slippery to Liquids 2/02/24
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description 2024 - University of South Australia Guest Lecture Seminar 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact 2024 - University of South Australia Guest Lecture Seminar
Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Australia 9/02/2024
Invited Research Talk - Nature-Inspired Strategies for Surfaces Slippery to Liquids 9/02/24
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description 2024 - University of Sydney Guest Lecture Seminar 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact 2024 - University of Sydney Guest Lecture Seminar
Department of Chemistry, University of Sydney, Australia 31/01/2024
Invited Research Talk - Nature-Inspired Strategies for Surfaces Slippery to Liquids 31/01/24
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description A talk or presentation 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Physics of Life network talk, presented the work about slippery surfaces to prevent biofilm formation
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Preston Street Primary School Science Fair (19/05/2023) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact On Friday 19th of May, 2023, Dr. Steven Armstrong and Dr. Hernán Barrio-Zhang took part in an outreach event representing the University of Edinburgh as judges of a science fair at the Preston Street Primary School. They judged over 50 P7 students' science projects, where the students had to choose a topic, formulate a hypothesis, perform the experiments, and draw scientific conclusions from the results. They interacted with the students directly and provided feedback on the science projects of the students.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description The University of Edinburgh PGR Conference public outreach (21/04/2023) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact On Friday, 21st of April, 2023, Dr. Steven Armstrong, Dr. Hernán Barrio-Zhang and members of the WISE lab organised an outreach event during School of Engineering Post-Graduate Conference hosted by the University of Edinburgh. Along with the participation from P7 students from the Preston Street Primary School, the outreach event consisted of a show-and-tell table where the group designed special experiments to highlight the research topics of the Institute of Multiscale Thermofluids and the importance of the research we perform. The experiments covered fundamental concepts of wetting and capillarity which were demonstrated though hydrophobic and ultra-smooth coatings such as Slippery Omniphobic Covalently Attached Liquid (SOCAL) surfaces, Slippery Liquid Infused Porous Surfaces (SLIPS), PEGylated surfaces and Glaco. This also included demonstrations on macro scale auxetic metamaterials with discussions on their wetting properties. The P7 students were tasked with going around the show-and-tell tables from the different institutes in the School of Engineering and voting for the ones that they learned from the most. Our group, the WISE lab, was voted as the best outreach table by the students.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023