the mechanism and the parameters affecting the matrix-fibril morphology in melt spun polyblend fibers are discussed. the properties of polymeric blends depend considerably on their final morphologies. blending of two miscible polymers, normally gives rise to formation of a single-phase morphology while blending of two immiscible polymers can create a two or three (in case of using compatibilize...

Polymeric beads have been used for protection and delivery of bioactive materials, such as drugs and cells, for different biomedical applications. Here, we present a generic two-phase system for the production of polymeric microbeads of gellan gum or alginate, based on a combination of in situ polymerization and phase separation. Polymer droplets, dispensed using a syringe pump, formed polymeri...

A rare type of antibody that spontaneously binds to each self (homodimerizes) has been described. This self-binding (autophilic) antibody provides stronger protection against bacterial infection than a non self-binding antibody with identical specificity and affinity due to increase of polymeric avidity. A peptide derived from the self-binding domain of the autophilic antibody was crosslinked t...

We report on a novel approach to the Deam-Edwards model for interacting polymeric networks without using replicas. Our approach utilizes the fact that a network modelled from a single non-interacting Gaussian chain of macroscopic size can be solved exactly, even for randomly distributed crosslinking junctions. We derive an exact expression for the partition function of such a generalized Gaussi...

Nanocatalysis is a rapidly growing research field which involves the use of nanomaterials as catalysts for both homogenous and heterogeneous catalysis. Because of the huge surface area contrasted to bulk matter nanomaterials can function as more efficient catalysts. The main challenge in applying nanoparticles in catalysis is to stabilize and control their size. This problem can be solved by in...

Water and solute or drug transport in crosslinked polymeric materials was investigated to determine the effects of polymer morphology, composition and solute properties on transport behavior. Two crosslinked polymer systems, poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-methyl methacrylate) (P(HEMA-co-MMA)) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), were used in water transport and solute release experiments. Struct...

A variety of polymeric nanoparticles have been developed for bioimaging applications. This study reports on the use of a 50 nm recombinant protein nanoparticle with a multivalent surface as a vehicle for functionalization with a model imaging agent. Multiple fluorescent probes were covalently conjugated to surface amines of crosslinked amphiphilic elastin-mimetic protein micelles using N-hydrox...

Initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) is a novel process capable of producing a range of polymeric and multifunctional nanocoatings. The process utilizes hot filaments to drive gas phase chemistry which enables the deposition of true linear polymers rather than the highly crosslinked organic networks often associated with plasma enhanced CVD. Importantly, the object to be coated remains at...

A novel polymeric sorbent has been synthesized by graft copolymerization of crosslinked polyvinyl alcohol with malic acid, and characterized by FTIR, TGA and swelling studies. A suitable and interesting method has been developed for the extraction and separation of lead ion with the graft copolymer. The lead ion uptake capacity of the polymer has been evaluated vis-a-vis varying pH and metal io...