A review on surface tension measurements by optical method for medical application

Abstract

Surface tension is a surface characteristic that is related to the forces of molecules residing at the interface. The presence of surface active substance in biological or body fluids which adsorb at interface influences the norm surface tension value. Such the changes indicate valuable signs in the medical field, particularly in pathological states. The conventional surface tension measurements suffered several flaws including lack of dynamic control and required a direct contact with the samples. The optical method seems to be attractive and useful in the surface phenomena owing to non-contact capabilities, non-destructive procedures and required a finite sample volume. In this paper, various optical techniques for surface tension measurement are reviewed and the potential applications regarding the surface tension through the meniscus formation are well discussed. This paper finds the simplicity and credibility of the optical method offers a good opportunity in fields such as medical and diagnostic analysis for monitoring applications.