Polymers, Biopolymers, and Gels

This set of flashcards covers key terms and concepts related to polymers, biopolymers, gels, their properties, applications, and implications in medical materials.

Polymers

Large molecules made of repeating structural units (monomers) connected by covalent bonds.

Biopolymers

Naturally occurring polymers produced by living organisms, such as proteins, DNA, and polysaccharides.

Gels

Soft solids formed when a polymer network percolates through a solvent, trapping it and creating viscoelastic properties.

Biomaterial

Any substance engineered to interact with biological systems for medical purposes.

Overlap Concentration (C*)

The concentration at which polymer chains begin to overlap significantly, affecting solution properties.

Degree of Crystallinity

Expressed as a percentage, it indicates how much of a polymer is ordered and crystalline.

Persistence Length

The length over which a polymer chain remains oriented before thermal fluctuations cause it to bend.

Radius of Gyration (Rg)

A measure of the average distance of the polymer segments from the center of mass.

Gel Transition

The transition where networks of polyelectrolytes increase in size and viscosity due to overlapping chains.

Salt Effect

For polyelectrolytes, salt can screen electrostatic repulsion, making chains more flexible and promoting aggregation.

Gelling Transition of Hydrophobic Polyelectrolytes

A significant increase in chain size and solution viscosity when the concentration of beads overlaps.

Hydrophilic Polyelectrolytes

Polymers that absorb water and have low overlap concentration, with unique scattering characteristics.

Hydrophobic Polyelectrolytes

Polymers that exhibit unique properties at concentrations higher than string overlap.

Ethanol

A common solvent with specific Hansen solubility parameters used in polymer chemistry.

Vascular Grafts

Medical implants that must be flexible and are often recognized by the body as foreign.

Intraocular Lenses

Implants made of various materials to restore vision after cataract surgery.

Genetic Change

A mutation or alteration in the genetic material that can lead to cancer.

Carcinogenesis

The process through which normal cells are transformed into cancer cells.

Biodiversity

The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.