Microscopy, spectroscopy and thermodynamic properties of thin surfactant films.

表面活性剂（表面活性剂）是技术上重要的化合物，用于各种工业和医疗产品，从肥皂和洗涤剂到农用化学品，再到用于治疗创伤性肺损伤的药用辅料和治疗药物。表面活性剂分子在表面（例如水和空气、固体和水）处积聚并且可以赋予这些界面有用的性质。 本研究将为合理设计更好的表面活性剂混合物提供基础，并将其应用于肺表面活性剂治疗和光电器件的开发。我们将研究控制两种不同类型的表面活性剂（全氟化碳和碳氢化合物）如何混合的因素，如何控制这些混合物的化学和机械性能，以及这些性能如何最终导致上述应用的重大改进。我们的实验涉及固体表面和水表面的表面活性剂薄膜的尖端测量，特别强调高分辨率，高灵敏度的显微镜和光谱技术。合理的设计原则将导致进步，这将显着提高性能的肺肺表面活性剂，因此，人类健康，以及重要的传感技术。除了在一个重要的技术领域提供科学进步外，该计划还为将成为明天科学领导者的年轻加拿大科学家提供出色的培训和教育。

Surface active agents (surfactants) are technologically important chemical compounds that are used in a wide variety of industrial and medical products ranging from soaps and detergents, to agrochemicals, to pharmaceutical excipients and therapeutic medications used to treat traumatic lung injuries. Surfactant molecules accumulate at surfaces (e.g. water and air, solid and water) and can impart useful properties to these interfaces. This research will provide the basis for rational design of better surfactant mixtures with applications in pulmonary lung surfactant therapy and in the development of optoelectronic devices. We will investigate factors that control how two different classes of surfactants (perfluorocarbons and hydrocarbons) mix, how to control the chemical and mechanical properties of these mixtures, and how these properties can ultimately lead to major improvements for the applications noted above. Our experiments involve cutting-edge measurements of thin surfactant films at surfaces of solids and on water, with particular emphasis on high-resolution, high-sensitivity microscopy and spectroscopy techniques. The rational design principle will lead to advances that will significantly improve performance of pulmonary lung surfactants, and hence, human health, as well as important sensing technology. In addition to offering scientific advances in a technologically important field, this program also provides excellent training and education for young Canadian scientists who will be tomorrow's scientific leaders.