Solid Wettability Modification via Adsorption of Antimicrobial Sucrose Fatty Acid Esters and Some Other Sugar-Based Surfactants

Solid–liquid interface properties play a crucial role in the adsorption and adhesion of different microorganisms to the solid. There are some methods to inhibit microorganisms’ adsorption at the solid–liquid interface and their adhesion to the solid. These methods can be divided into bulk phase and surface modification. They are often based on the surfactants’ effect on the wettability of the solid in a given system, due to the fact that adsorption and wetting properties of the food additive antimicrobial surfactants (sucrose monolaurate and sucrose monodecanoate as well as some other sugar-based ones (n-octyl-β-d-glucopyranoside, n-dodecyl-β-d-glucopyranoside, n-dodecyl-β-d-maltoside)) in the solid-aqueous solution of surfactant-air system were considered. Quantitative description of adsorption of the studied compounds at the solid–liquid interface was made based on the contact angle of the aqueous solutions of studied surfactants on polytetrafluoroethylene, polyethylene, poly(methyl methacrylate), polyamide and quartz surface and their surface tension. From the above-mentioned considerations, it can be seen that during the wettability process of the studied solids, surfactants are oriented in a specific direction depending on the type of the solid and surfactant. This specific orientation and adsorption of surfactant molecules at the solid–water interface cause changes of the solid surface properties and its wettability, which was successfully predicted in the studied systems.