http://www.physorg.com/chemistry-news/polymers/ en-us PhysOrg.com provides the latest news on polymers Researchers at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed microscopic polymer beads that can deliver an antioxidant enzyme made naturally by the body into the heart. http://www.physorg.com/news177581687.html Chemistry - Polymers Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:15:10 EST news177581687 (PhysOrg.com) -- In the past, restoration of paintings and other old artwork often involved application of acrylic resins to consolidate and protect them. One of the most important tasks for modern restorers is thus to remove these layers, because it turns out that acrylic resins not only drastically change the optics of the treated artwork, but in many cases they accelerate their degradation. http://www.physorg.com/news175805911.html Chemistry - Polymers Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:59:12 EST news175805911 Professor Guillermo Bazan and a team of postgraduate researchers at UC Santa Barbara's Center for Polymers and Organic Solids (CPOS) today announced a major advance in the synthesis of organic polymers for plastic solar cells. http://www.physorg.com/news175175634.html Chemistry - Polymers Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:54:38 EST news175175634 Theresa M. Reineke, associate professor of chemistry in the College of Science, and colleagues in her lab at Virginia Tech and at the University of Cincinnati have developed a new molecule that can travel into cells, deliver genetic cargo, and packs a beacon so scientists can follow its movements in living systems. http://www.physorg.com/news174063755.html Chemistry - Polymers Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:03:10 EST news174063755 (PhysOrg.com) -- Used in such diverse applications as adhesives, detergents, and super-absorbent disposable diapers, polyacrylates are key polymers, but the mechanisms of their formation are complex and have long been incompletely understood. Understanding how polyacrylates form brings opportunities to better control their molecular structure and hence their properties and recent research has been enlightening. Leading the field is an international group coordinated by Pete Lovell from the University of Manchester, UK. http://www.physorg.com/news172827293.html Chemistry - Polymers Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:35:18 EST news172827293 (PhysOrg.com) -- Many a historic landmark is defaced with graffiti, but the spray paint can only be removed - if at all - using caustic solutions which risk damaging the underlying surface. A new breathable coating provides efficient, all-round protection against attacks by taggers. http://www.physorg.com/news171039653.html Chemistry - Polymers Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:10:02 EST news171039653 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Glasgow are hoping to use tiny fabricated tubes to help damaged nerves heal themselves. http://www.physorg.com/news169645238.html Chemistry - Polymers Sun, 16 Aug 2009 12:42:10 EST news169645238 (PhysOrg.com) -- Bacteria play a role in myriad industrial processes from fermentation to cleaning up environmental pollution. But floating freely in solution, the microbial cells constantly multiply, generating biomass that must be removed periodically, causing downtime. Additionally, the microorganisms cannot be localized to a specific region of interest. http://www.physorg.com/news168617211.html Chemistry - Polymers Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:07:20 EST news168617211 (PhysOrg.com) -- With the "last resort" antibiotic Vancomycin now plagued by the first signs of bacterial resistance, a scientific collaboration centered at Duke University has identified how a candidate successor antibiotic known as Ramoplanin A2 can kill pathogenic bacteria by interrupting how they form their cell membranes. http://www.physorg.com/news168538972.html Chemistry - Polymers Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:23:20 EST news168538972 Tough new fire-resistant coating materials called HIPS ('hybrid inorganic polymer system') are being developed by CSIRO researchers in Melbourne. http://www.physorg.com/news167306601.html Chemistry - Polymers Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:03:58 EST news167306601 Biochips carrying thousands of DNA fragments are widely used for examining genetic material. Experts would also like to have biochips on which proteins are anchored. This requires a gel layer which can now be produced industrially. http://www.physorg.com/news165058328.html Chemistry - Polymers Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:32:34 EST news165058328 A research team led by a chemist at the University of California, Riverside has fabricated microscopic polymer beads that change color instantly and reversibly when external magnetic fields acting upon the microspheres change orientation. http://www.physorg.com/news164375513.html Chemistry - Polymers Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:52:32 EST news164375513 Researchers at the University of Twente (UT) have developed a new type of resin that can be broken down by the body. This new resin makes it possible to replicate important body parts exactly and make them fit precisely. http://www.physorg.com/news163773414.html Chemistry - Polymers Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:37:20 EST news163773414 (PhysOrg.com) -- Under a microscope they look like tiny pie charts or colorful candy canes: A team led by Joerg Lahann at the University of Michigan has been able to produce micrometer-wide discs and elongated rods precisely built out of multicolored compartments. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, these scientists have developed a simple, cost-effective, reliable, and scalable method for the production of microcylinders with multiple compartments. The inner structure, aspect ratio, and surface chemistry can be tuned by means of the new production method which is based on electrodynamic co-spinning and microcutting processes. http://www.physorg.com/news162455075.html Chemistry - Polymers Mon, 25 May 2009 07:26:04 EST news162455075 Parachute cords, climbing ropes, and smart coatings for bridges that change color when overstressed are several possible uses for force-sensitive polymers being developed by researchers at the University of Illinois. http://www.physorg.com/news160834918.html Chemistry - Polymers Wed, 06 May 2009 13:22:39 EST news160834918 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers in The Netherlands are reporting development of a new plastic with potential for use in the first easy-to-recycle computer circuit boards, electrical insulation, and other electronics products that now wind up on society`s growing heaps of electronic waste. Their study appears in ACS` Macromolecules. http://www.physorg.com/news159732694.html Chemistry - Polymers Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:12:05 EST news159732694 (PhysOrg.com) -- The basis of all life forms are vesicles: membrane-enclosed, liquid-filled `bubbles` made of lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates. Cells, which are separated from the surrounding medium by their cell membrane, are really just big vesicles. Small vesicles play a critical role in the intracellular transport of biomolecules. http://www.physorg.com/news157013196.html Chemistry - Polymers Mon, 23 Mar 2009 07:47:07 EST news157013196 (PhysOrg.com) -- Amphiphilic molecules, which have one water-friendly (hydrophilic) end and one water-repellant (hydrophobic) end, spontaneously aggregate in aqueous solutions to make superstructures like capsules or bilayers. This phenomenon is responsible for the effects of detergents and soaps. Dirt is enclosed in little capsules of surfactant, which makes it water-soluble. http://www.physorg.com/news155556445.html Chemistry - Polymers Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:08:12 EST news155556445 The research team of Leonhard Grill at Freie Universität Berlin - in collaboration with the synthetic chemistry group of Stefan Hecht from Humboldt University of Berlin and the theoretical physics group of Christian Joachim of the CEMES-CNRS institute in Toulouse - has succeeded in lifting single polymers from a gold surface, similar to chains, and in measuring their electrical and mechanical properties during this process. The scientists place one end of a polymer strand in contact with a metallic tip, thereby inducing an electrical current through single molecular wires over extraordinarily long distances during the pulling process. The results were published in the most recent issue of Science. http://www.physorg.com/news154965885.html Chemistry - Polymers Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:05:02 EST news154965885 (PhysOrg.com) -- For centuries, people have preserved fruit by mixing it with sugar, making thick jams that last for months without spoiling. Now scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have discovered* a fundamental property of mixture behavior that might help extend the life of many things including vaccines, food and library books -and save money while doing it. http://www.physorg.com/news154769529.html Chemistry - Polymers Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:32:41 EST news154769529