A surface tension equilibrium study of human serum in atherosclerosis.

The rate of attainment of a static surface tension equilibrium by human blood serum was investigated. In general serum from atherosclerotic individuals tends to reach a static surface tension value more rapidly than serum from a normal subject. From a consideration of typical surface tension versus age-of-surface curves of fresh serum, of heated denatured serum, and of aged serum, it is concluded that the rate of change of surface tension is a function of serum protein structure and therefore influences the colloidal stability of serum.