Polymer Gels

Explains the correlation between the physical properties and structure of polymer gels This book elucidates in detail the physics of polymer gels and reviews their unique properties that make them attractive for innumerable applications. Geared towards experienced researchers and entrants to the field, it covers rubber elasticity, swelling and shrinking, deformation and fracture of as well as mass transport in polymer gels, enabling the readers to purposefully design polymer gels fit for specific purposes. Divided into two parts, Physics of Polymer Gels starts by explaining the statistical mechanics and scaling of a polymer chains, and that of polymer solutions. It then introduces the structure of polymer gels and explains the rubber elasticity, which predicts the solid-like nature of polymer gels. Next, it describes swelling/deswelling, which can be understood by combining the rubber elasticity and the osmotic pressure of a polymer solution. Large deformation and fracture, and the diffusion of substances in polymer gels, which are essential for practical applications, are also introduced. The last half of the book contains the authors' experimental results using Tetra-PEG gels and provides readers with the opportunity to examine and compare it with the first half in order to understand how to utilize the models to experiments. This title: * Is the first book dedicated to the physics of polymer gels * Describes in detail the properties of polymer gels and their underlying physics, facilitating the development of novel, polymer gel-based applications * Serves as a reference for all relevant polymer gel properties and their underlying physics * Provides a unified treatment of the subject, explaining the physical properties of polymer gels within a common nomenclature framework Physics of Polymer Gels is a must-have book for experienced researchers, such as polymer chemists, materials scientists, organic chemists, physical chemists, and solid-state physicists, as well as for newcomers to the field.

Polymeric Gels: Characterization, Properties and Biomedical Applications covers the fundamentals and applications of polymeric gels. Particular emphasis is given to their synthesis, properties and characteristics, with topics such as natural, synthetic, and smart polymeric gels, medical applications, and advancements in conductive and magnetic gels presented. The book covers the basics and applications of hydrogels, providing readers with a comprehensive guide on the types of polymeric gels used in the field of biomedical engineering. Provides guidance for decisions on the suitability and appropriateness of a synthetic route and characterization technique for particular polymeric networks Analyzes and compares experimental data Presents in-depth information on the physical properties of polymeric gels using mathematical models Uses an interdisciplinary approach to discuss potential new applications for both established polymeric gels and recent advances

This book addresses a range of synthesis and characterization techniques that are critical for tailoring and broadening the various aspects of polymer gels, as well as the numerous advantages that polymer gel-based materials offer. It presents a comprehensive collection of chapters on the recent advances and developments in the science and fundamentals of both synthetic and natural polymer-based gels. Topics covered include: synthesis and structure of physically/chemically cross-linked polymer-gels/polymeric nanogels; gel formation through non-covalent cross-linking; molecular design and characterization; polysaccharide-based polymer gels: synthesis, characterization, and properties; modified polysaccharide gels: silica-based polymeric gels as platforms for the delivery of pharmaceuticals; gel-based approaches in genomic and proteomic sciences; emulgels in drug delivery; and organogels. The book provides a cutting-edge resource for researchers and scientists working in various fields involving polymers, biomaterials, bio-nanotechnology and functional materials.

This book exclusively focuses on the science and fundamentals of polymer gels, as well as the numerous advantages that polymer gel-based materials offer. It presents a comprehensive collection of chapters on the recent advances and developments in the core science and fundamentals of both synthetic and natural polymer-based gels, and pays particular attention to applications in the various research fields of biomedicine and engineering. Key topics addressed include: polysaccharide-based gels and their fundamentals; stimuli-responsive polymer gels; polymer gels applied to enzyme and cell immobilization; chitosan-based gels for cancer therapy; natural polymeric and gelling agents; radiation dosimetry; polymeric gels as vehicles for enhanced drug delivery across the skin; transport in and through gel; and polymer gel nanocomposites and functional gels. The book’s extensive and highly topical coverage will appeal to researchers working in a broad range of fields in industry and academia alike.

This text offers an in-depth look at the properties, thermodynamic formation, structure, latest trends and scientific application of bio- and synthetic polymer gels.

This volume contains a series of papers originally presented at the Symposium on Polymer Gels organized and sponsored by the Research Group on Polymer Gels,The Society of Polymer Science of Japan and co-sponsored by the Science and Technology Agency (ST A) and MIT!, Japan. The Symposium took place at Tsukuba Science City on 18th and 19th September, 1989. Recognized experts in their fields were invited to speak and there was a strong attendance from government, academic and industrial research centers. The purpose of the Symposium was to review the state of the art and to present and discuss recent progress in the understanding of the behavioral properties of polymer gels and their application to biomedical, environmental and robotic fields. Most of the papers and related discussions concentrated on the swelling behavior of hydrogels and chemomechanical systems, both artificial and naturally occurring, in which external stimuli of a physical or chemical nature control energy transformation or signal transduction. The recent great interest in chemomechanical systems based on polymer gels has stimulated considerable effort towards the development of new sensors and actuators, controllable membrane separation processes, and delivery systems in which the functions of sensing, processing and actuation are all built into the polymeric network device. Artificial chemomechanical systems, through the use of environmentally sensitive polymer gels, are emerging as interesting materials for mimicking basic processes previously only confined to the biological world, and commercially viable applications are also foreseen in the not-too-distant future.

Presenting a unique perspective on state-of-the-art physical gels, this interdisciplinary guide provides a complete, critical analysis of the field and highlights recent developments. It shows the interconnections between the key aspects of gels, from molecules and structure through to rheological and functional properties, with each chapter focusing on a different class of gel. There is also a final chapter covering innovative systems and applications, providing the information needed to understand current and future practical applications of gels in the pharmaceutical, agricultural, cosmetic, chemical and food industries. Many research teams are involved in the field of gels, including theoreticians, experimentalists and chemical engineers, but this interdisciplinary book collates and rationalises the many different points of view to provide a clear understanding of these complex systems for researchers and graduate students.

Provides comprehensive coverage of the most recent developments in the theory of non-Archimedean pseudo-differential equations and its application to stochastics and mathematical physics--offering current methods of construction for stochastic processes in the field of p-adic numbers and related structures. Develops a new theory for parabolic equat