Macromolecular Solutions: Solvent-Property Relationships in Polymers is a collection of papers presented at a symposium on Macromolecular Solutions, held New York City on August 23-28, 1981, sponsored by the American Chemical Society at its 182nd national meeting. This book is composed of 19 chapters and begins with discussions on the concept, application, and analysis of solubility parameters of polymers. The succeeding chapters deal with the role of solubility parameters in polymer coating design and stress cracking of nylon. Considerable chapters are devoted to the preparation, properties, reactions, and analysis of various polymers and copolymers. These topics are followed by surveys of the polymer-surfactant interaction effect on polymer solution properties and the effects of methanol-gasoline mixtures on elastomers. The final chapters describe the residual solvent content effect on dissolution kinetics of polymers; the application of excimer fluorescence to measure polymer-solvent interactions; and a general procedure for the calculation of thermodynamic properties of polymer solutions. This book will be of great value to polymer chemists, manufacturers, and researchers.

This volume contains most of the papers presented at the "Workshop on Quasielastic Light Scattering Studies of Fluids and Macromolecular Solutions" held at CISE, Segrate (Milano), Italy, from 11 to 13 May, 1979. Quasielastic light scattering (also called self-beating spectroscopy or intensity correlation spectroscopy) is the technique, introduced by Benedek and coworkers and by Cummins and coworkers about 15 years ago, by which dynamical information about a scattering medium is obtained through the measurement of the power spectrum (or the intensity correlation function) of the laser light scattered from the medium. The technique received in the early seventies a considerable impulse from the development of real-time fast digital correlators. The aim of the Workshop was to bring together a selected number of researchers in order to discuss recent developments in quasielastic light scattering and related optical methods and to report about new applications of the technique in physics, chemistry and biology. The first two days of the meeting were devoted to the oral presentations of papers. In the third day an informal session was held which included a very lively and thorough discussion of the highlights of the Workshop. Most part of the technical problems were debated during the informal session and during the subsequent visits to the light scattering laboratory in CISE.

Macromolecular Microsymposia – 16 (Prague, 1976) is a collection of lectures presented at the 16th Microsymposium on Macromolecules (Advances in Scattering Methods), held in Prague on July 12-16, 1976. This book contains four chapters and begins with a survey of density fluctuations in amorphous and semicrystalline polymers. The next chapter provides experimental procedures for studying light scattering from polymer films. This chapter also describes the theory for scattering from spherulites and the procedures for correction for multiple scattering, truncation, and disorder, and illustrated for studies n polyethylene terephthalate films. These topics are followed by a discussion of the classical light scattering from polymer solutions. The last chapter considers the progress of techniques and instruments of light-scattering spectroscopy, with emphasis on advances made in photon correlation. This book will be of value to analytical and organic chemists and researchers.

Small-angle scattering of X-rays (SAXS) and neutrons (SANS) is an established method for the structural characterization of biological objects in a broad size range from individual macromolecules (proteins, nucleic acids, lipids) to large macromolecular complexes. SAXS/SANS is complementary to the high resolution methods of X-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance, allowing for hybrid modeling and also accounting for available biophysical and biochemical data. Quantitative characterization of flexible macromolecular systems and mixtures has recently become possible. SAXS/SANS measurements can be easily performed in different conditions by adding ligands or binding partners, and by changing physical and/or chemical characteristics of the solvent to provide information on the structural responses. The technique provides kinetic information about processes like folding and assembly and also allows one to analyze macromolecular interactions. The major factors promoting the increasingly active use of SAXS/SANS are modern high brilliance X-ray and neutron sources, novel data analysis methods, and automation of the experiment, data processing and interpretation. In this book, following the presentation of the basics of scattering from isotropic macromolecular solutions, modern instrumentation, experimental practice and advanced analysis techniques are explained. Advantages of X-rays (rapid data collection, small sample volumes) and of neutrons (contrast variation by hydrogen/deuterium exchange) are specifically highlighted. Examples of applications of the technique to different macromolecular systems are considered with specific emphasis on the synergistic use of SAXS/SANS with other structural, biophysical and computational techniques.

Since the publication of the second edition of this book in 2004, gene therapy and cell therapy clinical trials have yielded some remarkable successes and some disappointing failures. Now in its third edition, Gene and Cell Therapy: Therapeutic Mechanisms and Strategies assembles many of the new technical advances in gene delivery, clinical applications, and new approaches to the regulation and modification of gene expression. New Topics Covered in this Edition: Gene and Cell Therapies for Diabetes and Cardiovascular Diseases Clinical Trials Human Embryonic Stem Cells Tissue Engineering Combined with Cell Therapies Novel Polymers Relevant Nanotechnologies SiRNA Therapeutic Strategies Dendrimer Technologies Comprised of contributions from international experts, this book begins with a discussion of delivery systems and therapeutic strategies, exploring retroviral vectors and adenovirus vectors, as well as other therapeutic strategies. The middle section focuses on gene expression and detection, followed by an examination of various therapeutic strategies for individual diseases, including hematopoietic disorders, cardiovascular conditions, cancer, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, neurological disorders, and childhood-onset blindness. The final section discusses recent clinical trials and regulatory issues surrounding the new technology. This compendium is assembled by noted molecular biologist and biochemist Nancy Smyth Templeton. Baylor College of Medicine and several other institutions have used Dr. Templeton’s non-viral therapeutics in clinical trials for the treatment of lung, breast, head and neck, and pancreatic cancers, as well as Hepatitis B and C. She continues to work at the forefront of research in gene and cell therapies. Her contributions, as well as those contained in this volume, are sure to advance the state of the art of these revolutionary life-saving technologies.

Like so many of its kind, this textbook originated from the requirements of teaching. While lecturing on macromolecular science as a required subject for chemists and materials scientists on the undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Zurich (1960-1971), I needed a one-volume textbook which treated the whole field of macromolecular science, from its chemistry and physics to its applications, in a not too elementary manner. This textbook thus intends to bridge the gap between the often oversimplified introductory books and the highly specialized texts and monographs that cover only parts of macromolecular science. This first English edition is based on the third German edition (1975), which is about 40% different from the first German edition (1971), a result of rapid progress in macromolecular science and the less rapid education of the writer. This text intends to survey the whole field of macromolecular science. Its organization results from the following considerations. The chemical structure of macromolecular compounds should be independent of the method of synthesis, at least in the ideal case. Part I is thus concerned with the chemical and physical structure of macro molecules. Properties depend on structure. Solution properties are thus discussed in Part II, solid state properties in Part III. There are other reasons for discussing properties before syntheses: For example, it is difficult to under stand equilibrium polymerization without knowledge of solution thermody of the glass temperature, etc.