Comb-shaped amphiphilic polymers are rapidly emerging as an alternative approach to amphiphilic block copolymers for hydrophobic drug solubilization. These polymers consist of a homopolymer or copolymer backbone to which hydrophobic and hydrophilic pendant groups can be grafted resulting in a comb-like architecture. The hydrophobic pendants may consist of homopolymers, copolymers and other low-...

Polymers with both soluble and insoluble blocks typically self-assemble into micelles, which are aggregates of a finite number of polymers where the soluble blocks shield the insoluble ones from contact with the solvent. Upon increasing concentration, these micelles often form gels that exhibit crystalline order in many systems. In this paper, we present a study of both the dynamics and the equ...

Interest in stimuli-responsive polymers is steadily gaining increasing momentum especially in the fields of controlled and self-regulated drug delivery. Delivery systems based on these polymers are developed to closely resemble the normal physiological process of the diseased state ensuring optimum drug release according to the physiological need. Also termed 'environmental-sensitive' or 'smart...

A number of materials used to fabricate disposable microfluidic devices are hydrophobic in nature with water contact angles on their surface ranging from 80° to over 100°. This characteristic makes them unsuitable for a number of microfluidic applications. Both the wettability and analyte adsorption parameters are highly dependent on the surface hydrophobicity. In this article, we propose a gen...

The aim of this study was to identify the most significant factors in the formulation of ascorbic acid tablets with hydrophilic polymers used as stabilizers against oxidative degradation. The study involved the use of a factorial experimental design with the use of regression analysis to derive equations in order to predict the optimum parameters in terms of tensile strength and release propert...

A hydrophilic matrix tablet is the simplest and most cost-effective method of fabricating an extended release (ER) solid oral dosage form. The majority of commercially available matrix formulations are in the form of tablets, and their method of manufacture is similar to conventional tablet formulations: granulation, blending, compression and coating. In its simplest form, a typical ER matrix f...

Nucleic acids contain severa' characteristic structural features: a chiral center adjacent to the base, a stereoregular, hydrophilic poly(phosphate-ribose) backbone which is negatively charged at neutral pH, and a helical secondary structure arising from conformational preferences enforced by base-stacking. We have prepared and studied several synthetic polynucleotide analogs having linear poly...

Peach, peanut, fiber, and flower (see picture) crystal morphologies are achieved from the precipitation of simple minerals in the presence of specifically adsorbing polymers. These crystal design effects are illustrated using BaSO(4) and double-hydrophilic block copolymers, the latter featuring carboxylate, sulfonate, phosphonate, and aspartic acid groups.