Cell surface energy, contact angles and phase partition. II. Bacterial cells in biphasic aqueous mixtures.

Partition coefficients in biphasic mixtures of poly(ethylene glycol) and Dextran are compared to cell surface energies obtained from contact angles of each liquid phase on cell layers. Linear relationships are observed between these two independent measurements for a variety of bacterial cells. The results demonstrate the importance of interfacial phenomena and contact angles in the phase-partition process.