The interactions between spherical colloids covered with end-grafted polymers (brushes) immersed in a polymer melt are studied theoretically. We show that attractive enthalpic interactions between the two polymer species, characterized by a negative Flory parameter (chi<0), can stabilize the colloidal dispersion. The stabilizing mechanism is a result of a structural change from a dry brush, whe...

The Tao brush is a small flexible brush used in TruTest Endometrial Biopsy. Endometrial tissue to a depth of 1.5–2 mm can be collected. It gently brushes the entire inside of the uterus so as to gather a more complete sampling of the endometrium and is less painful than the traditional method [1]. It covers a wide area of the endometrial surface. Therefore, small lesions are less likely to be m...

BACKGROUND Epidermal growth factor (EGF) has been shown to increase intestinal absorptive surface area and transport function in normal animals. AIMS To examine the effect of EGF on absorptive surface area and brush border membrane function in a model of massive small bowel resection. METHODS New Zealand white rabbits were randomised into two groups: a resected group (60% proximal small bow...

The adsorption of long flexible macromolecules by polymer brush-coated surfaces is studied by molecular dynamics simulations and by calculations using density functional and self-consistent field theories. The case of repulsive interactions between the substrate surface and the monomers of both the brush polymers and the extra chains that can get absorbed into the brush is considered. Under goo...

It is known that the administration of parathyroid hormone to dogs results in phosphaturia and decreased phosphate transport in brush-border vesicles isolated from the kidneys of those dogs. Parathyroid hormone has been shown to activate adenylate cyclase at the basal-lateral membrane of the renal proximal tubular cell. It has been postulated that parathyroid hormone-induced phosphaturia is eff...

Conformations of a single-component bottle-brush polymer with a fully flexible backbone under poor solvent conditions are studied by molecular dynamics simulations, using a coarse-grained bead-spring model with side chains of up to N = 40 effective monomers. By variation of the solvent quality and the grafting density σ with which side chains are grafted onto the flexible backbone, we study for...

By controlling nanoparticle flocculation and deposition, polymer coatings strongly affect nanoparticle fate, transport, and subsequent biological impact in the environment. Biodegradation is a potential route to coating breakdown, but it is unknown whether surface-bound polymers are bioavailable. Here we demonstrate, for the first time, that polymer coatings covalently bound to nanomaterials ar...

We present a facile microfluidic method for forming narrow chemical gradients in polymer brushes. Co-flow of an alkylating agent solution and a neat solvent in a microfluidic channel forms a diffusion-driven concentration gradient, and thus a gradient in reaction rate at the interface of the two flows, leading to a quaternization gradient in the underlying poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacryla...