© Copyright 2008 American Chemical Society
FEBRUARY 19, 2008 VOLUME 24, NUMBER 4
Preface Molecular and Surface Forces Special Issue As a research topic, molecular and surface forces spans the fields that constitute the scope of Langmuir, so we believe that our readers will find much to interest them in this special issue. While we recognize that there is a great deal of overlap, the papers in this issue have been organized into the following categories: forces in liquids and colloidal systems, forces in biological systems, multiscale modeling related to surface forces, single-molecule force measurements, capillary and related surface tension forces, and tribological phenomena. This list of categories also emphasizes the fact that the topic spans a wide range of length scales, from molecular to macroscopic. We believe that this issue captures a particularly interesting moment in time in this respect in that there is a renewed interest in “traditional” macroscopic phenomena associated with topics such as tribology and capillarity. Some of this interest undoubtedly stems from the relevance of these phenomena to applications involving biomaterials, microfluidics, and optoelectronics. However, the maturation of experimental and computational methods that probe forces at the molecular level has also played an important role by stimulating researchers to explore the fundamental molecular basis of phenomena that have previously been understood only at a phenomenological level. All of these length scales, approaches, and applications are represented in this issue. It is important to acknowledge the people who made this special issue possible, in particular, my guest editorssNorma A. Alcantar, Joyce Y. Wong, and Jacob N. Israelachviliswho originally suggested the topic and were instrumental in defining the scope of the issue. A number of scientists helped us to identify specific areas of focus. We thank David G. Grier, Deborah E. Leckband, Carlos M. Marques, Evan Evans, Hermann E. Gaub, Hans-Ju¨rgen Butt, and Manfred P. Heuberger for sharing their expertise. The issue would not have been possible without the hard work and organizational skills of Kathryn Duffy and Karen Nielsen. I also thank Editorin-Chief David Whitten and Jo Wright Whitten for their support and assistance with this project. The quality of this special issue, like every issue of Langmuir, is due to a unique collaboration between two groups of people. The contributing authors, of course, deserve special thanks for sharing their creativity and insight, but I would also like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the many peer reviewers who generously contributed their time and expertise to the manuscripts in this issue, with no expectation of credit or even acknowledgment. We cannot tell you often enough how much we appreciate your service. Molecular and Surface Forces Editor: Daniel K. Schwartz Dear Langmuir Readers, Many thanks to Dan and his guest editors for putting together this special issue on molecular and surface forces. We hope that this issue will be of interest to all of our readers. We are planning at least two topical special issues in 2008 and welcome suggestions from our readers for topics for future thematic special issues. Editor-in-Chief: David G. Whitten LA800117V 10.1021/la800117v CCC: $40.75 © 2008 American Chemical Society Published on Web 02/12/2008
