The titration behavior of weak polyelectrolytes is of high importance, due to their uses in new technologies including nanofiltration and drug delivery applications. A comprehensive picture of polyelectrolyte titration under relevant conditions is cu...
This article reviews the state of the art of the studies on charge regulation (CR) effects in flexible weak polyelectrolytes (FWPE). The characteristic of FWPE is the strong coupling of ionization and conformational degrees of freedom. After introduc...
This work addresses the role of charge regulation (CR) and the associated fluctuations in the conformational and mechanical properties of weak polyelectrolytes. Due to CR, changes in the pH-value modifies the average macromolecular charge and conform...
One of the emerging water desalination techniques relies on the compression of a polyelectrolyte gel. The pressures needed reach tens of bars, which are too high for many applications, damage the gel and prevent its reuse. Here, we study the process...
Surface functionalization with end-tethered weak polyelectrolytes (PE) is a versatile way to modify and control surface properties, given their ability to alter their degree of charge depending on external cues like pH and salt concentration. Weak PE...
The ionization degree, charge density, and conformation of weak polyelectrolytes can be adjusted through adjusting the pH and ionic strength stimuli. Such polymers thus offer a range of reversible interactions, including electrostatic complexation, H...
Weak polyelectrolytes (WPEs) are widely used as pH-responsive materials, pH modulators and charge regulators in biomedical and technological applications that involve multi-component fluid environments. In these complex fluids, coupling between (ofte...
We investigate the chemical equilibria of weak polyelectrolyte nanogels with reaction ensemble Monte Carlo simulations. With this method, the chemical identity of the nanogel monomers can change between neutral or charged following the acid-base equi...
The classical Rotational Isomeric State (RIS) model, originally proposed by Flory, has been used to rationalize a wide range of physicochemical properties of neutral polymers. However, many weak polyelectrolytes of interest are able to regulate their...
Weak bonds usually make macromolecules stronger; therefore, they are often used to enhance the mechanical strength of polymers. Not enough studies have been reported on the use of weak bonds in flame retardants. A water-soluble polyelectrolyte comple...
Weak polyelectrolytes (WPEs) are responsive materials used as active charge regulators in a variety of applications, including controlled release and drug delivery in crowded bio-related and synthetic environments. In these environments, high concent...
Ion exchange membranes covered with layers of polyelectrolytes of alternating charges are characterized by very high monovalent selectivity. This allows the use of such membranes for electrodialytic fractionation of multicomponent solutions. However,...
We study the microstructural properties and state of hydration of aqueous low-molecular-weight poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) solutions and their dependence on polymer concentration and pH by means of detailed atomistic Molecular...
End-grafting of polyelectrolyte chains to conducting substrates offers an opportunity to fabricate electro-responsive surfaces capable of changing their physical/chemical properties (adhesion, wettability) in response to applied electrical voltage. W...
The self-consistent field Poisson–Boltzmann framework is applied for analysis of equilibrium partitioning of ampholytic protein-like nanocolloids between buffer solution and weak (pH-sensitive) versus strong polyelectrolyte (polyanionic) brushe...
Weak polyelectrolyte chains are versatile polymeric materials due to the large number of functional groups that can be used in different environmental applications. Herein, one weak polycation (polyethyleneimine, PEI) and two polyanions (poly(acrylic...
PAMAM dendrimers are used as a model system to investigate the effects of counterion condensation and the effective charge for spherical polyelectrolytes. Because of their amino groups, PAMAM dendrimers are weak polyelectrolytes. Lowering the pH resu...
Field-effect EIS (electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor) sensors modified with a positively charged weak polyelectrolyte layer have been applied for the electrical detection of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) immobilization and hybridization by the intrins...
The equilibrium volume of a polyelectrolyte gel results from a balance between the tendency to swell caused by outbound polymer/counterion diffusion along with Coulomb interactions on the one hand; and, on the other, the elastic resilience of the cro...
The present work describes the acid-triggered condensation of silicic acid, Si(OH)4, as directed by selected polycations in aqueous solution in the pH range of 6.5–8.0 at room temperature, without the use of additional solvents or surfactants. This p...
The direct deposition of polyethyleneimine (PEI), a weak polycation with a large content of amino groups, onto sand fractions with different sizes (F70, F100, F200, and F355), resulted in versatile core-shell sorbents for water cleaning. Herein, PEI...
Silk fibroin (SF) is a protein with many outstanding properties (superior biocompatibility, mechanical strength, etc.) and is often used in many advanced applications (epidermal sensors, tissue engineering, etc.). The properties of SF-based biomateri...
The interaction between polyelectrolytes and metal ions is governed by different types of interactions, leading to the formation of different phases, from liquid state to weak gels, through an appropriate choice of metal ion/polyelectrolyte molar rat...
We report the rheological behavior of aqueous solutions of a graft copolymer polyampholyte, constituted of polyacrylic acid (PAA) backbone grafted by Poly(L-lysine) (PAA-b-PLL). The graft copolymer self-assembles in aqueous media, forming a three-dim...
Multilayer thin film assembly by the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique offers an inexpensive and versatile route for the synthesis of functional nanomaterials. In the case of polymer-clay systems, however, the technique faces the challenges of low clay...
A large number of experimental studies have demonstrated that globular proteins can be absorbed from the solution by both polycationic and polyanionic brushes when the net charge of protein globules is of the same or of the opposite sign with respect...
The entropy and charge distributions have been calculated for a simple model of polyelectrolytes attached to the surface of DNA using a field-theoretic method that includes fluctuations to the lowest one-loop order beyond mean-field theory. Experimen...
A coarse-grained model of linear polyfunctional weak charged biopolymers was implemented, formed of different proportions of acid-base groups resembling the composition of humic substances. These substances are mainly present in dissolved organic mat...
Biopolymeric films based on chitosan and starch offer an ecological alternative for food protection. Nevertheless, their practical application is often limited by their low mechanical properties and high solubility in aqueous solutions, due to weak i...
For tailored functionalization of cellulose based papers, the interaction between paper fibers and functional additives must be understood. Planar cellulose surfaces represent a suitable model system for studying the binding of additives. In this wor...
We present a thermodynamic study of the interaction of synthetic, linear polyelectrolytes with bovine serum albumin (BSA). All polyelectrolytes are based on poly(allyl glycidyl ether) which has been modified by polymer-analogous reaction with anionic...
The modification of inorganic surfaces with weak cationic polyelectrolytes by direct deposition through precipitation is a fast approach to generating composites with high numbers of functional groups. The core/shell composites present very good sorp...
We report the preparation of mesoporous silica nanoparticles covered by layer by layer (LbL) oppositely charged weak polyelectrolytes, comprising poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and a sodium alginate, highly grafted by N-isopropylacrylamide/N-te...
Calcareous biominerals typically feature a hybrid nanogranular structure consisting of calcium carbonate nanograins coated with organic matrices. This nanogranular organisation has a beneficial effect on the functionality of these bioceramics. In thi...
In the single-polyelectrolyte aqueous phase separation (APS) approach, membranes are prepared by precipitating a weak polyelectrolyte from a concentrated aqueous solution using a pH switch. This has proven to be a versatile and more sustainable metho...
Anionic thermo- and pH-responsive copolymers were synthesized by photoiniferter reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (PI-RAFT). The thermo-responsive properties were provided by oligo(ethylene glycol)-based macromonom...
The present review article highlights a specific class of responsive polymer-based hydrogels which are formed through association of oppositely charged polyion segments. The underpinning temporary three-dimensional network is constituted of hydrophil...
In this work, we report the systematic investigation of a multiresponsive complex coacervate-based underwater adhesive, obtained by combining polyelectrolyte domains and thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) units. This material exhib...
The swelling of polyelectrolyte hydrogels usually depends on the pH, and if the pH is high enough degradation can occur. A microindentation device was developed to dynamically test these processes in whey protein isolate hydrogels at alkaline pH 7–14...
This study investigates the thermal and structural properties of multilayer composites based on chitosan (CS) and polyanions with different functionalities, including sodium sulfoethyl cellulose (SEC), sodium alginate (ALG), and sodium hyaluronate (H...
Organize the matter on an increasingly small scale is sought in order to increase the performance of materials. In the case of porous materials, such as filtration membranes, a compromise must be found between the selectivity provided by this nanostr...
The development of nanovectors for precise gene therapy is increasingly focusing on avoiding uncontrolled inflammation while still being able to effectively act on the target sites. Herein, we explore the use of non-viral hybrid polyelectrolyte nanoc...
Space electroosmotic thrusters (EOTs) are theoretically investigated in a soft charged nanochannel with a dense polyelectrolyte layer (PEL), which is considered to be more realistic than a low-density PEL. When the PEL is dense, its permittivity is s...
Polyzwitterion (PZW) hydrogel has excellent marine anti-biofouling performance, but it is difficult to effectively work for a long time in natural seawater due to its weak mechanical strength. In this study, a new natural rubber (NR)-PZW composite hy...
Stimuli-responsive polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) exhibit reversible changes in the dispersion or aggregation state in response to external stimuli. In this context, we designed and synthesized core-shell NPs with threonine-containing weak polyelectro...
We demonstrate the functionalization of silicon nanowire based field effect transistors (SiNW FETs) FETs with stimuli-responsive polymer brushes of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAM) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA). Surface functionalization was conf...
Alginate hydrogel commonly suffers from defects, such as weak mechanical properties, the shortage of long-term stability in physiological medium and the lack of mammalian cell adhesivity due to its strong hydrophilicity in biomedical application. For...
In this study we report the rheological behavior of aqueous solutions of an amphiphilic graft copolymer constituting a polyacrylic acid (PAA) grafted by poly(boc-L-lysine), P(b-LL). Due to the highly hydrophobic nature of the grafted chains, the copo...
It is common knowledge that pure alginate hydrogel is more likely to have weak mechanical strength, a lack of cell recognition sites, extensive swelling and uncontrolled degradation, and thus be unable to satisfy the demands of the ideal scaffold. To...
In this study, different chitosan–alginate polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) were investigated as a biomimetic delivery system for phytic acid (PA), a natural antioxidant with potential anticancer activity. Physicochemical characterization, incl...