This book addresses surface modification techniques, which are critical for tailoring and broadening the applications of naturally occurring biopolymers. Biopolymers represent a sustainable solution to the need for new materials in the auto, waste removal, biomedical device, building material, defense, and paper industries. Features: First comprehensive summary of biopolymer modification methods to enhance compatibility, flexibility, enhanced physicochemical properties, thermal stability, impact response, and rigidity, among others Address of a green, eco-friendly materials that is increasing in use, underscoring the roles of material scientists in the future of new "green" bioolymer material use Coverage applications in automotive development, hazardous waste removal, biomedical engineering, pulp and paper industries, development of new building materials, and defense-related technologies Facilitation of technology transfer

The modification of materials/surfaces is central to numerous applications ranging from opto-electronic devices to biomedical implants and drug delivery. Thus, there exists a high motivation for improving the methodologies which can be employed in order to modify surfaces in a selective and efficient fashion. One of the major goals of surface engineering is to control the chemical composition at the material interface. The fine control of the surface properties is a field of intense research as the performance of functional materials is strongly related to the processes and interactions that are occurring at the materials' interface. In general, the modification or transformation of surfaces can be achieved via various chemical and physical methods. Although there is a general need for simple and convenient methods to covalently conjugate a molecule of interest to a surface, no single coupling strategy has been broadly adopted. Instead, numerous strategies have been reported in the literature. In an attempt to develop novel strategies to prepare functional materials via surface modifications we examined the potential of a series of photochemical and thermal reactions for such purposes. Methods described in this thesis are divided into two categories: Photochemical and Thermal. In the first chapter, these strategies are introduced. Since many of the modification methods deal with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), a review of their properties and synthesis methods are also included. Two chapters (chapter 2 and 3) are devoted to the potential of diazirine for photochemical modification of materials and nanomaterials. In chapter 2, diazirine is employed to prepare robust hydrophobic cotton and paper surfaces by coating them with a highly fluorinated phosphonium salt using diazirine as the tether. In chapter 3, the same photochemical modification strategy is extended to nanomaterials by incorporating diazirine onto the surface of water soluble AuNPs. The synthesis and characterization of diazirine-AuNPs is described and it is demonstrated that upon irradiation, the photo generated carbene can be used for the insertion reaction which leads to interfacially modified AuNPs. Starting with chapter 4, we focus on click-type and more biologically friendly reactions for surface modification of water soluble AuNPs. Chapter 4 reports our efforts towards modification of small water soluble AuNPs using maleimide interfacial functionality. Both 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition and Diels Alder reactions are studied. In chapter 5, a novel strategy for modification of AuNPs via strain-promoted alkyne-nitrone cycloaddition (SPANC) is introduced. Nitrone functionalized AuNPs are synthesized and characterized. It is demonstrated in this chapter that one can take advantage of the nitrone moiety for interfacial SPANC (i-SPANC) reaction to prepare 18F-radiolabeled AuNPs with potential applications in positron emission tomography (PET). In the second part of chapter 5, the i-SPANC method is further extended to material chemistry by preparing AuNP-carbon nanotube (AuNP-CNT) hybrid nanomaterials.

The book Biotechnology of Biopolymers omprises 17 chapters covering occurrence, synthesis, isolation and production, properties and applications, biodegradation and modification, the relevant analysis methods to reveal the structures and properties of biopolymers and a special section on the theoretical, experimental and mathematical models of biopolymers. This book will hopefully be supportive to many scientists, physicians, pharmaceutics, engineers and other experts in a wide variety of different disciplines, in academia and in industry. It may not only support research and development but may be also suitable for teaching. Publishing of this book was achieved by choosing authors of the individual chapters for their recognized expertise and for their excellent contributions to the various fields of research.

Biosynthetic Polymers for Medical Applications provides the latest information on biopolymers, the polymers that have been produced from living organisms and are biodegradable in nature. These advanced materials are becoming increasingly important for medical applications due to their favorable properties, such as degradability and biocompatibility. This important book provides readers with a thorough review of the fundamentals of biosynthetic polymers and their applications. Part One covers the fundamentals of biosynthetic polymers for medical applications, while Part Two explores biosynthetic polymer coatings and surface modification. Subsequent sections discuss biosynthetic polymers for tissue engineering applications and how to conduct polymers for medical applications. Comprehensively covers all major medical applications of biosynthetic polymers Provides an overview of non-degradable and biodegradable biosynthetic polymers and their medical uses Presents a specific focus on coatings and surface modifications, biosynthetic hydrogels, particulate systems for gene and drug delivery, and conjugated conducting polymers

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) plays a dominant role in real-time interaction sensing of biomolecular binding events, this book provides a total system description including optics, fluidics and sensor surfaces for a wide researcher audience.

Chemical sensors are in high demand for applications as varied as water pollution detection, medical diagnostics, and battlefield air analysis. Designing the next generation of sensors requires an interdisciplinary approach. The book provides a critical analysis of new opportunities in sensor materials research that have been opened up with the use of combinatorial and high-throughput technologies, with emphasis on experimental techniques. For a view of component selection with a more computational perspective, readers may refer to the complementary volume of Integrated Analytical Systems edited by M. Ryan et al., entitled “Computational Methods for Sensor Material Selection”.