The emphasis of this book is on new advances in polymer gels, particularly with biomedical applications in mind. At the same time, current progress in synthesis, characterization, and physicochemical characterization and properties are highlighted. Section I deals with the fundamentals of the static and dynamic properties of polymer networks and gels. Section II is devoted to the applications of gels to medicine and biology, particularly the use of the gel medium for controlled drug delivery and encapsulation of proteins and enzymes. Section III covers the synthesis and characterization of novel polymeric networks and gels such as hydrogels, cyanogels, and gels of amphiphilic block copolymers. Section IV discusses visco-elastic properties of gels and cross-linked networks, interactions between physical and chemical gels, gel formation and interactions with vesicles, and photo-responsive rheological behavior.
Preface Introduction Erik Geissler
The Gel State
1. Kinetics of the N-Isopropylacrylamide Gel-Volume Phase Transition in the Presence of Free Polymer Chains, Marianne E. Harmon and Curtis W. Frank
2. Transient Network of Random Copolymers of Sodium 2-(Acrylamido)-2-methylpropanesulfonate and Associative Macromonomers, Yotaro Morishima, Tetsuya Noda, and Akihito Hashidzume
3. Network Inhomogeneities in Polymer Gels, Wilhelm Oppermann, Brigitte Lindemann, and Bettina Vgerl
4. Thermoreversible and Irreversible Physical Gels from Biopolymers, Simon B. Ross-Murphy
5. Inorganic-Organic Hybrid Gel: Structural Characteristics and Formation Mechanism, Hiroshi Urakawa, Yoshiaki Yuguchi, Yuko Ikeda, Kanji Kajiwara, Yoshitaka Hirata, and Shinzo Kohjiya
Novel Gels
6. Synthesis and Characterization of pH-Responsive Poly(organophosphazene) Hydrogels, Harry R. Allcock and Archel Ambrosio
7. Chitin and Chitosan in Gel Network Systems, Waldo Argelles-Monal, Francisco M. Goycoolea, Jaime Lizardi, Carlos Peniche, and Inocencio Higuera-Ciapara
8. The Behavior of Amphiphilic Block Copolymers in Water and Their Association Behavior, Dirk van Eck, Siegfried Hring, Karsten Busse, and Jrg Kressler
9. Phase Transitions in Interpolymer Complexes of Some Linear and Cross-Linked Polymers, L. A. Bimendina, G. T. Zhumadilova, and S. E. Kudaibergenov
10. Structure of Polyampholyte Gels and Their Behavior with Respect to Applied External DC Electric Field, S. E. Kudaibergenov, V. B. Sigitov, A. G. Didukh, and S. B. Moldakarimov
11. Hydrogel Polymers from Alkylthio Acrylates for Biomedical Applications, Ravi Mukkamala, Aaron M. Kushner, and Carolyn R. Bertozzi
12. Stimuli-Responsive Gels Based on Ring-Opened Polyferrocenes: Synthesis, Characterization, and Electrochemical Studies of Swellable, Thermally Cross-Linked Polyferrocenylsilanes, Kevin Kulbaba, Mark J. MacLachlan, Christopher E. B. Evans, and Ian Manners
Rheology and Gel Interactions
13. Hydrocarbon Gels: Rheological Investigation of Structure, Nov Markovic, Naba K. Dutta, David R. G. Williams, and Jani Matisons
14. Rheology of Epoxy-Amine Systems Near the Gel Point, Jean Pascal Eloundou, Jean Franois Grard, and Jean Pierre Pascault
15. Amphiphilic Hydrogels with Highly Ordered Hydrophobic Dendritic Domains, Ivan Gitsov, Thomas Lys, and Chao Zhu
16. The Effect of Hydrophobicity on the Viscoelastic Creep Characteristics of Poly(ethylene glycol)-Acrylate Hydrogels, N. Ravi, A. Mitra, L. Zhang, P. Kannan, and B. A. Szab
17. Gel Network Development in AB, ABA, and AB/ABA Block Copolymer Solutions in a Selective Solvent, Elizabeth A. Wilder, Scott A. White, Steven D. Smith, and Richard J. Spontak
18. Photoresponsive Thickening in Polyamphiphile-Based Physical Gels: The Examples of Micelle, Protein, and Cyclodextrin Cross-Linkers, G. Pouliquen, I. Porcar, C. Tribet, and C. Amiel
Gels in Medicine and Biology
19. Amphiphilic Gels with Controlled Mesh Dimensions for Insulin Delivery, J. P. Kennedy, G. Fenyvesi, S. Na, B. Keszler, and K. S. Rosenthal
20. Controlled Drug Delivery from Injectable Biodegradable Triblock Copolymer, Young Jin Kim and Sung Wan Kim
21. (N-isopropylacrylamide) Copolymers: Hydrogel Formation via Photocrosslinking, Dirk Kuckling, Hans-Jrgen P. Adler, and Karl-Friedrich Arndt
22. Various Interactions of Drugs with Cross-Linked Hyaluronate Gel, Chikako Yomota and Satoshi Okada
Indexes
Author Index
Subject Index