This major reference work, covering the important materials science area of gels, is a translation of a Japanese handbook. The three-volume set is organized to cover the following: fundamentals, functions, and environmental issues. Gels Handbook also contains an appendix, complete references, and data on gel compounds.Recently, polymer gels have attracted many scientific researchers, medical doctors, and pharmaceutical, chemical, and agricultural engineers to the rapidly growing field. Gels are considered to be one of the most promising materials in the 21st Century. They are unique in that they are soft, gentle, and can sense and accommodate environmental changes. Because of these unique characteristics gels have a huge potential in technological and medical applications. They are irreplaceable in the separation of molecules, the release of drugs, artificial skins and organs, sensors, actuators, chemical memories, and many other applications.The 21st century is also said to be the century of biotechnology, where two kinds of biopolymers play crucial roles: DNA as a bearer of geneticinformation and proteins as molecular machines. In spite of the dramatic progress in molecular biology and the Human Genome project, the basic principles behind the function and design of such polymeric machines are in the black box. Science and technologies that will emerge from those of polymer gels will shed light on such principles.Some researchers have already developed prototypes of artificial glands (pancreas), artificial muscles and actuators, and chemical sensors and molecular recovery systems using polymer gels.The Gels Handbook is an invaluable source of information on this rapidly growing field. It covers the entire area from the scientific basics to the applications of the materials. The authors are among the leading researchers, doctors, engineers, and patent officers in Japan. This book can be used as a textbook or an encyclopedia and is a must for those involved in gel research or applications. Key Features* Comprehensive coverage of a popular topic in materials science* Is the first english-language gels handbook* Includes numerous figures, tables, and photos

This volume includes 28 contributions to the Toyoichi Tanaka Memorial Symposium on Gels which took place at Arcadia Ichigaya on September 10th-12th, 2008. The contributions from leading scientists cover a broad spectrum of topics concerning: Structure and Functional Properties of Gels - Swelling of Gels - Industrial and Biomedical Application. The symposium was held in the style of Faraday Discussions, which stimulated the active discussion. After the symposium, each manuscript was rewritten based on the discussion and the critical review. Since the research on gels is becoming more and more important both for academia and industry, this book will be an essential source of information.

Hydrogels are made from a three-dimensional network of cross linked hydrophilic polymers or colloidal particles that contain a large fraction of water. In recent years, hydrogels have attracted significant attention for a variety of applications in biology and medicine. This has resulted in significant advances in the design and engineering of hydrogels to meet the needs of these applications. This handbook explores significant development of hydrogels from characterization and applications. Volume 1 covers state-of-art knowledge and techniques of fundamental aspects of hydrogel physics and chemistry with an eye on bioengineering applications. Volume 2 explores the use of hydrogels in the interdisciplinary field of tissue engineering. Lastly volume 3 focuses on two important aspects of hydrogels, that is, drug delivery and biosensing. Contains 50 colour pages.

The food technologist who wishes to produce a gelled product is faced with two basic options for achieving the desired effect; whether to use a protein or a polysaccharide. Although a gel can be formed by either a protein or a polysaccharide, the resultant gels have different characteristics: • Polysaccharide gels are characterised by their fine texture and transparency which is achieved at a low polymer concentration. They can be formed by heating and cooling, pH adjustment or specific ion addition . • Protein gels are characterised by a higher polymer concentration (5-10%) and are formed almost exclusively by heat denaturation. Before reaching a final decision, the technologist must take a number of factors into consideration. The purpose of this book is to help the technologist in his choice by providing fundamental practical information, in one book, on the properties of gels (and factors which influence them) for both types of biopolymer. To help the reader, each chapter is (wherever possible) organised in the same way so that, for example, information on structure will always be available in section 2. The examples in the Applications section of each chapter are not meant to be exhaustive, but to illustrate the various ways in which the particular polymer can be used to form a gelled product.

Polymeric Gels: Characterization, Properties and Biomedical Applications covers the fundamentals and applications of polymeric gels. Particular emphasis is given to their synthesis, properties and characteristics, with topics such as natural, synthetic, and smart polymeric gels, medical applications, and advancements in conductive and magnetic gels presented. The book covers the basics and applications of hydrogels, providing readers with a comprehensive guide on the types of polymeric gels used in the field of biomedical engineering. - Provides guidance for decisions on the suitability and appropriateness of a synthetic route and characterization technique for particular polymeric networks - Analyzes and compares experimental data - Presents in-depth information on the physical properties of polymeric gels using mathematical models - Uses an interdisciplinary approach to discuss potential new applications for both established polymeric gels and recent advances

This completely updated and expanded second edition stands as a comprehensive knowledgebase on both the fundamentals and applications of this important materials processing method. The diverse, international team of contributing authors of this reference clarify in extensive detail properties and applications of sol-gel science and technology as it pertains to the production of substances, active and non-active, including optical, electronic, chemical, sensor, bio- and structural materials. Essential to a wide range of manufacturing industries, the compilation divides into the three complementary sections: Sol-Gel Processing, devoted to general aspects of processing and recently developed materials such as organic-inorganic hybrids, photonic crystals, ferroelectric coatings, and photocatalysts; Characterization of Sol-Gel Materials and Products, presenting contributions that highlight the notion that useful materials are only produced when characterization is tied to processing, such as determination of structure by NMR, in-situ characterization of the sol-gel reaction process, determination of microstructure of oxide gels, characterization of porous structure of gels by the surface measurements, and characterization of organic-inorganic hybrid; and Applications of Sol-Gel Technology, covering applications such as the sol-gel method used in processing of bulk silica glasses, bulk porous gels prepared by sol-gel method, application of sol-gel method to fabrication of glass and ceramic fibers, reflective and antireflective coating films, application of sol-gel method to formation of photocatalytic coating films, and application of sol-gel method to bioactive coating films. The comprehensive scope and integrated treatment of topics make this reference volume ideal for R&D scientists and engineers across a wide range of disciplines and professional interests.