What connects milk, mayonnaise, fog, hand cream, blood, cancer drug delivery systems, and the preservation of centuries-old paintings? The answer lies in colloid and interface science. Although colloidal and interfacial phenomena are often invisible to the naked eye, they shape the behavior of materials all around us and drive innovation in areas ranging from cultural heritage conservation to cutting-edge medicine. This remarkable breadth was showcased at the 100th Colloid & Surface Science Symposium of the American Chemical Society, held at the University of Delaware in 2026 to mark the event’s centennial. Among the researchers attending the symposium was Egon F. Várkonyi, a PhD student at the University of Szeged’s Doctoral School of Chemistry.
Colloid chemistry may not receive the same public attention as fields such as artificial intelligence or quantum computing, yet it plays a fundamental role in many everyday phenomena. Familiar examples include milk, which is an emulsion, and fog, a colloidal system made up of tiny water droplets. Colloidal and interfacial processes also determine the properties and performance of paints, creams, foams, and advanced drug delivery systems.
“In simple terms, colloid and surface science explores what happens when different materials come into contact,” explains Egon F. Várkonyi, a chemist and chemistry teacher pursuing his PhD at the University of Szeged’s Doctoral School of Chemistry. “These interactions and surface phenomena shape the texture of foods, the behavior of coatings, the performance of pharmaceuticals, and even the technologies that underpin modern nanoscience.”
The American Chemical Society’s 100th Colloid & Surface Science Symposium highlighted the discipline’s remarkable scope, bringing together leading researchers working on topics ranging from self-assembling systems and electrocatalysis to nanoparticles, drug delivery systems, artificial intelligence applications, and the latest advances in materials science.
The symposium series has a history spanning more than a century. Its inaugural meeting was held in Wisconsin in 1923, several years before the American Chemical Society established its Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry. The 2026 gathering at the University of Delaware therefore marked not only the symposium’s 100th edition, but also more than a century of scientific progress in a field that continues to advance both fundamental research and technological innovation.
Group photo from the first Colloid & Surface Science Symposium, held in Wisconsin in 1923. Source: University of Wisconsin–Madison Digital Collections.
Interestingly, the symposium’s 100th meeting came more than a century after the series was first launched. The conference series was interrupted by the Great Depression and the Second World War, resulting in the cancellation of several meetings. As a result, the 2026 gathering marked not the centenary of the series, but its 100th event – a milestone of particular significance for the international colloid and surface science community.
Over the past century, the symposium has welcomed many of the world’s most influential scientists. Theodor Svedberg attended the inaugural meeting as guest of honor and later received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The symposium also hosted renowned scientists including Irving Langmuir, Peter Debye, William Lawrence Bragg, and Herbert Freundlich, all of whom made lasting contributions to the development of modern physical chemistry.
Dr. Margaret E. “Peggy” Schott, former professor at Northwestern University, presents the pioneering work of Katharine Burr Blodgett at the centennial symposium. Source: Egon F. Várkonyi’s personal archive.
The centennial program also included a special session dedicated to Katharine Burr Blodgett, a pioneering researcher in the field of monomolecular thin films. Among her many groundbreaking achievements were key contributions to the development of anti-reflective coatings for eyeglass lenses and technologies used in modern electronic displays.
One of the highlights of the symposium for Egon F. Várkonyi was a visit to the conservation laboratories at Winterthur, where colloid and surface science plays a vital role in preserving centuries of cultural heritage.
The internationally renowned Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC), a collaborative initiative of the Winterthur Museum and the University of Delaware, is dedicated to the preservation and study of paintings, furniture, textiles, paper-based artifacts, metals, and other historically significant objects in partnership with museums around the world. Beyond conserving works of art, students and researchers in the program investigate the materials used to create these objects, the techniques employed in their production, and their current condition using a wide range of microscopic, chemical, and advanced analytical techniques.
At first glance, the connection between colloid chemistry and art conservation may seem far from obvious. Yet surface chemistry is fundamental to virtually every aspect of preserving cultural heritage – a fact reflected in many of the practical questions conservators face. What enables a layer of paint to remain firmly bound to a canvas for centuries? Which cleaning agents can safely remove accumulated dirt without damaging the original surface? What drives corrosion or accelerates the aging of historical materials?
Dr. Rosie Grayburn and doctoral student Yan Ling Choi use non-destructive X-ray fluorescence analysis to examine the elemental composition of pigments in the 19th-century collage album Helen’s Scrapbook House. Source: Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library.
At the intersection of science and cultural heritage, students in the joint University of Delaware–Winterthur program use advanced analytical techniques to uncover the secrets of works of art while helping preserve them for future generations through minimally invasive conservation.
At the centennial symposium, Egon F. Várkonyi presented research conducted at the University of Szeged’s Institute of Chemistry to an international audience.
Research findings from the University of Szeged presented in a scientific poster at the centennial symposium. Source: Egon F. Várkonyi’s personal archive.
The PhD student’s presentation highlighted one of the areas in which colloid and surface science is opening up new possibilities: cancer research. At the University of Szeged, scientists are investigating metal complexes with potential anticancer properties and developing colloidal drug delivery systems designed to enhance the solubility, stability, and targeted delivery of therapeutic compounds, paving the way for more effective treatment strategies.
PhD student Egon F. Várkonyi conducts research at the University of Szeged’s Institute of Chemistry under the guidance of Associate Professor Edit Csapó and Professor Éva Enyedy.
“In developing these systems, our goal is to improve the solubility, stability, targeted delivery, and ultimately the biological applicability of active compounds by using a range of colloidal carriers,” says F. Várkonyi. “I was pleased to see that the colloid chemistry research conducted at the University of Szeged attracted considerable interest from fellow researchers at the conference. The discussions also provided an excellent opportunity to establish personal connections with colleagues from the University of Wisconsin, the University of Pennsylvania, New York University, and Yale University.”
As the only Hungarian researcher attending the centennial symposium, Egon F. Várkonyi also represented Hungary’s internationally recognized tradition of excellence in colloid chemistry.
A montage created by Egon F. Várkonyi featuring Hungarian and international researchers who have shaped the field of colloid chemistry, including many who participated in previous editions of the symposium.
“Among Hungary’s pioneers in colloid chemistry was Richard Zsigmondy, who received the Nobel Prize for his groundbreaking research on colloidal systems,” explains Egon F. Várkonyi. “Other Hungarian scientists who made significant contributions to the field include Aladár Buzágh, Ervin Wolfram, and Ferenc Szántó, founder of the Szeged school of colloid chemistry. Building on this foundation, Bernát Várkonyi and Imre Dékány, a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, played a major role in the subsequent development of colloid chemistry in Szeged.”
For Egon F. Várkonyi, the centennial symposium marked just one milestone in a longer research stay in the United States. Supported by the Rosztóczy Scholarship, he is currently conducting research at the University of Pennsylvania, where he focuses on lipid chemistry related to mRNA-based vaccines.
Illustration of an mRNA lipid nanoparticle (LNP). Created by Dr. Máté Vadovics.
Lipid nanoparticles – the technology that played a pivotal role in the success of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 – are themselves colloidal systems. Their remarkable performance depends on the same interactions between particles and interfaces that shape the properties of milk, fog, hand cream, and even the preservation of centuries-old works of art.
Perhaps the true power of colloid science lies in its hidden presence: the same fundamental principles that shape ordinary materials and everyday phenomena also underpin some of the most advanced technologies of our time. As the centennial symposium celebrated more than a century of scientific discovery, it also looked to the future – one in which breakthroughs in medicine, materials science, and many other fields will continue to emerge from these invisible foundations.
Source: SZTEinfo
Photos: Egon F. Várkonyi
