The analysis of the charge, structure and molecular interactions of/within polymeric substrates defines an important analytical challenge in materials science. Accordingly, advanced electrokinetic methods and theories have been developed to investigate the charging mechanisms and structure of soft material coatings. In particular, there has been significant progress in the quantitative interpre...

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are very important systems with potential use in drug delivery systems, ferrofluids, and effluent treatment. In many situations, such as in biomedical applications, it is necessary to cover inorganic magnetic particles with an organic material, such as polymers. A superparamagnetic nanocomposite Fe3O4/poly(maleic anhydride-co-acrylic acid) P(MAH-co-AA) with a core/...

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) hold great promise for regenerative medicine and transplantation therapy due to their self-renewal and pluripotent properties. We report that 2D thin film scaffolds composed of biocompatible polymer grafted carbon nanotubes (CNTs), can selectively differentiate human embryonic stem cells into neuron cells while maintaining excellent cell viability. According t...

We use confocal microscopy to study the three-dimensional (3D) structure of colloidal crystals formed by poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-co-(acrylic acid) microgels of diameter 1.0-1.5 μm. The confocal images are tracked to locate particle positions in 3D, which are used to compute pair-correlation functions g(r), bond order parameters, and structure factors s(q). We find that the structure remains...

CO₂ separation was found to be facilitated by transport membranes based on novel chitosan (CS)-poly(styrene) (PS) and chitosan (CS)-poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) copolymer matrices doped with methylimidazolium based ionic liquids: [bmim][BF₄], [bmim][PF₆], and [bmim][Tf₂N] (IL). CS plays the role of biodegradable film former and selectivity promoter. Copolymers were prepared implementing the latest...

Enzymatically degradable semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (edsIPNs) were explored for their biocompatibility and ability to promote new scleral tissue growth, as a means of reinforcing the posterior wall of the eye. The edsIPNs comprised thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid), customizable peptide crosslinkers cleavable by matrix metalloproteinases, and interpenetrat...

N-Acylated poly(aminoester) (NPAE) macromonomers were synthesised via spontaneous copolymerisation of 2-oxazolines and acrylic acid. Inherent quantitative introduction of α-vinyl end-groups was observed, which enabled the preparation of a series of well-defined NPAE comb polymers through redox-initiated RAFT polymerisation. Investigations of the thermal properties of the comb polymers revealed ...