Sweet Surfactants: A Surface Tension Investigation Relating Additives to Surfactant Function
Sweet surfactant dipping results.Copyright Cara Snyder
Students explore the natural phenomenon of surface tension and learn how it is applied in industry, such as food science, and in medical contexts, including disease progression from vaping-related lung injury. Students design and test candy-coating techniques as a model to investigate how surfactants affect liquid spreading and adhesion. They then connect this model to biology by examining how natural lung surfactants function in respiration and how vaping additives can disrupt alveolar coating efficiency, linking engineering design to real-world health challenges.
Chemical and biomedical engineers use science, math, and engineering to design solutions that improve products, processes, and human health. Chemical engineers develop and optimize materials, coatings, and additives used in industries such as food science, medicine, and manufacturing, while biomedical engineers apply these principles to study how materials and chemicals interact with the human body. Together, they investigate how surfactants control liquid behavior, support lung function, and influence medical treatments, including understanding and preventing lung injuries caused by harmful substances like vaping additives.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Describe how surfactants affect the surface tension of liquids and influence fluid behavior.
- Explain the role of surfactants in the lungs and how they support normal breathing.
- Investigate how additives influence surface tension and coating performance using a physical model.