Colloids In Biotechnology

Colloids show great potential in a wide variety of applications, including drug delivery and medical imaging, and the design and fabrication of colloid systems has attracted considerable interest in the research community. Colloids in Biotechnology describes developments in the field of biotechnological applications in the past decade and bridges t

This volume contains a selection of the papers presented at the 9th Conference on Colloid Chemistry. A colloid chemical approach to nano- and biotechnology was one of the main topics of the meeting held in Siófok, Hungary in October 2007. It was organized by the Hungarian Chemical Society in cooperation with leading Hungarian universities and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The contributions demonstrated the progress of the field and supported that "The world of neglected dimensions" should not be neglected at all in modern material sciences and technologies. This volume is intended for professionals dealing with fundamental research or development of industrial applications, who encounter colloids, nanostructures, and interfacial phenomena during their work.

The important role of ?nely dispersed matter and surfaces in medicine is not always fully understood and appreciated. Speci?cally, ?ne particles (solid or liquid) in the size range of several nanometers to several micrometers have a tremendous effect on our lives, because they can be bene?cial or detrimental to our well-being. Such particles are present in living bodies as red blood cells or cholesterol crystals in the gall bladder. They are ubiquitous in the environment, where they can cause many diseases, such as asbestosis, silicosis, and black lung disease, but they are also used in diagnostic tests, drug delivery, and numerous other applications. More recently, evidence has become available that drug formulations with active components in a ?nely dispersed state may signi?cantly affect their functionality. Furthermore, with miniaturization of medical instrumentation, the size of the components is necess- ily reduced to colloid or even smaller range. This volume is a collection of several chapters dealing with diverse topics of colloids and surfaces relevant to medical applications. Thus, Siiman describes the use of optical properties of uniform colloidal particles as probes in ?ow cytometry. Giesche focuses on the preparations and properties of exceedingly uniform silica spheres for different uses, such as in chromatography. In modi?ed forms, silica p- ticles with incorporated dyes are employed in diagnostics and those combined with tiny magnetic entities in drug delivery.

Dr. Abdelhamid Elaissari, internationally respected author and researcher, reports on and analyzes a broad range of important findings from new studies on the use of colloidal nanoparticles in biomedical, food, and environmental diagnostics and analyses. Throughout the presentation, the book uses a blend of classical tools, including optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, microsystems, and microfluidics, to help you take full advantage of colloidal nanoparticles for your own research and applications.

Colloidal systems occur everywhere-in soils, seawater, foodstuff, pharmaceuticals, paints, blood, biological cells, and microorganisms. Colloids and Interfaces in Life Sciences and Bionanotechnology, Second Edition, gives a concise treatment of physicochemical principles determining interrelated colloidal and interfacial phenomena. New in the