Hydrogels are crosslinked three-dimensional hydrophilic polymer networks capable of retaining a significant amount of water within their structures, and swell without dissolving in water.1 A hydrogel is formed when an organic polymer (natural or synthetic) is crosslinked via covalent, ionic, or hydrogen bonds to create a three-dimensional structure.2 Recently, much work has been carried out on ...

This work demonstrates the synthesis, characterization and application of a hyperbranched polyethyleneimine/polysulfone (HPEI/PSf) thin fi lm composite (TFC) membrane. The membrane was accessed via an interfacial polymerization of trimesoyl chloride and HPEI. The membrane samples were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared-Attenuated Total Refl ectance (FTIR-ATR) s...

Hybrid materials formed by the combination of inorganic components with organic polymers have emerged as a rapidly expanding and internationally competitive field research in polymer science. These show great promise many important applications where control surface properties, well structure interfacial interactions between two primary components, are determinant. In this paper, we present rev...

The permeability and solute transport characteristics of amphiphilic triblock-polymer vesicles containing the bacterial water-channel protein Aquaporin Z (AqpZ) were investigated. The vesicles were made of a block copolymer with symmetric poly-(2-methyloxazoline)-poly-(dimethylsiloxane)-poly-(2-methyloxazoline) (PMOXA(15)-PDMS(110)-PMOXA(15)) repeat units. Light-scattering measurements on pure ...

Membranes grafted with water-soluble polymers resist protein adsorption and adhesion to cellular surfaces. Liposomes with surface-grafted polymers therefore find applications in drug delivery. The physicochemical properties of polymer-grafted lipid membranes are reviewed with mean-field and scaling theories from polymer physics. Topics covered are: mushroom-brush transitions, membrane expansion...

Rough electrodeposition, uncontrolled parasitic side-reactions with electrolytes and dendrite-induced short-circuits have hindered development of advanced energy storage technologies based on metallic lithium, sodium and aluminium electrodes. Solid polymer electrolytes and nanoparticle-polymer composites have shown promise as candidates to suppress lithium dendrite growth, but the challenge of ...

The degree to which biological control is exercised compared to physical control of the organization of biogenic materials is a central theme in biomineralization. We show that the outlines of biogenic calcite domains with organic membranes are always of simple geometries, while without they are much more complex. Moreover, the mineral prisms enclosed within the organic membranes are frequently...

In the present work, two asymmetric polymer membranes based on polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) with chitin and chitosan (as extractive agents) were synthesized through the phase inversion technique. The mechanisms of oriented process for the facilitated extraction of blue P3R dye across the as-prepared membranes were elucidated through different experiments. Furthe...