Biophysics and Molecular Materials

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Smart Polymer Adhesion

smart_poly_1Functional Polymers
Polymers are chemical compounds consisting of a high number of covalently connected smaller and often identical molecular units called monomers. In nature, there is a high abundance of biomacromolecules that introduce strength, shape flexibility, and most importantly, specific information and function (e.g. polysaccharides, polypeptides, polyisoprenes, DNA, proteins) into biological systems without which life as we know it could not exist.In materials science, synthetic polymers prepared by chemical synthesis play a major role due to their unique and tunable mechanical and biochemical properties. Over the last two decades, materials research has intensively pursued the introduction of specific function into synthetic polymers. Employed as nanoscale coatings, synthetic functional polymers are frequently used to optimize specific surface properties of solid materials and devices. In biology and medicine, the interface between a synthetic material and a living organism is a crucial issue. Advanced materials are being designed with specific performance parameters in the context of biocompatibility, protein resistance, protein retention, activity inhibition, enhancement of cell adhesion, and the introduction of chemical functionalities for post-reactions (e.g. for the immobilization of biomolecules).

smart_poly_2Smart Polymer Adhesion
Environmentally-responsive ‘smart’ polymers are being investigated for applications in biodiagnostic devices, drug delivery, and tissue engineering. Smart polymers undergo phase separation in aqueous media upon application of an environmental stimulus, such as temperature or pH. We study how collapse of the polymers above the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) alters polymer adhesion to inorganic surfaces such as polycrystalline gold.