Friction of Zwitterionic Hydrogel by Dynamic Polymer Adsorption

Polymer Translocation Induced by Adsorption

We study the translocation of a flexible polymer through a pore in a membrane induced by its adsorption on trans side of the membrane. When temperature T is higher than Tc, the adsorption-desorption transition temperature, attractive interaction between polymer and membrane plays little role in affecting polymer conformation, leading to translocation time that scales as τ ∼ L3 where L is the po...

Membrane curvature induced by polymer adsorption.

The phenomena resulting from interaction between polymers and membranes pose important problems for biological applications. Based on a scaling theory, we investigate the spontaneous curvature of a membrane induced by either flexible or semiflexible chain adsorption. Irrespective of chain stiffness, a weakly adsorbed polymer induces the membrane to bend away (to have a positive curvature) from ...

Synchronizing nonfouling and antimicrobial properties in a zwitterionic hydrogel.

In this work, we report a new approach to integrate antimicrobial and nonfouling properties into a single platform without compromising each other. To achieve this, a zwitterionic hydrogel is conjugated with an antimicrobial agent as a leaving group in a way that maintains the zwitterionic form of the hydrogel before, during and after drug release, preventing bacteria surface adhesion and bulk ...

Polymer chemistry and hydrogel systems

Friction of polymer hydrogels studied by resonance shear measurements.

The friction between an elastomer and a hard surface typically has two contributors, i.e., the interfacial and deformation components. The friction of viscoelastic hydrogel materials has been extensively studied between planar gel and planar substrate surfaces from the viewpoint of an interfacial interaction. However, the geometry of the contact in practical applications is much more complex. T...