Symposium
Editors: F. Horkay and E.J. Amis
Wiley-VCH, 2005, pp. 1-382
ISBN 3-527-31330-3
Preface
This
volume contains the text of selected presentations from
the Polymer
Networks 2004 Conference (17th Polymer Networks Group
Meeting) held in Bethesda, MD, from August 15-19, 2004.
The conference was jointly organized and sponsored by
the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute
of Standards and Technology under the auspices of the
IUPAC.
Polymer
science is by nature an interdisciplinary field, traditionally
spanning chemistry, physics and engineering. One of the
most promising new developments in polymer science is
the interaction with other disciplines such as biology
and medicine. The goal of the Polymer Networks 2004 Conference
was to provide an interdisciplinary forum for physical
scientists, engineers, biologists, and clinicians to meet
and discuss their work, exchange ideas, and assess the
latest developments in the rapidly expanding field of
polymer gels and networks. The most recent advances from
eight topical categories were presented and discussed.
These topics were: Phase Transition in Synthetic and Biopolymer
Gels, Associating/Self-Assembly Systems, Polyelectrolytes
and Intelligent Gels, Controlled Synthesis of Networks,
Tissue Engineering and Hydrogel Scaffolds, Nano-Particles
in Diagnostics and Therapeutics, Gene and Drug Delivery,
and Simulation and Modeling of Polymer Networks.
The
conference focused on all areas relevant to the formation,
structure, properties and applications of synthetic and
natural polymer networks and gels, including materials
science, nanotechnology, surface science, rheology, tissue
engineering, and modeling. In particular, the conference
explored experimental tools and theoretical models to
describe biological phenomena with physical concepts that
allow predictive, model-driven research. This knowledge
is essential for understanding, designing, and controlling
material properties and performance. The collection of
papers in this volume illustrates that increased understanding
of the behavior of complex gel systems is critical to
developments in biomedical research, biotechnology, diagnostics,
dentistry, and medicine.
We
thank the authors of the papers for their invaluable contributions
to this exciting volume. We also acknowledge the colleagues
who reviewed the manuscripts, as well as the staff of
the Macromolecular Symposia. We would like to express
our gratitude to the members of the Advisory Board and
the Organizing Committee for their excellent work before
and during the conference.
F.
Horkay and E.J. Amis