Interactions and molecular organization in polymer surfactant systems

聚合物-表面活性剂对在许多化妆品和农业产品以及涂料和药物配方中起着关键作用。 通常将高分子量聚合物和低分子量表面活性剂组合以利用其独特的和协同的性质;例如，聚合物的机械性质和表面活性剂的自组装行为。然而，聚合物-表面活性剂系统尚未被充分开发用于生物医学和制药应用，由于缺乏关于生物聚合物和非离子表面活性剂的组合的可用信息。 迄今为止，大多数关于聚合物-表面活性剂体系的基础研究都包括带电表面活性剂（例如十二烷基硫酸钠），由于其不良的安全性和毒性特征，其在生物医学应用中的应用潜力有限。 以这种方式，用于生物医学应用的适当的生物聚合物-非离子表面活性剂对的选择通常通过试验和错误来进行。 目前的研究集中在建立模型来解释溶液的行为和由天然的、生物相容的聚合物壳聚糖和非离子表面活性剂形成的膜的性质。 将采用实验研究和计算机模拟，以深入了解这些系统中存在的相互作用和微观结构。 从实验和计算机模拟研究的结果的比较将允许验证的计算方法，可用于在未来的快速识别的最佳聚合物-表面活性剂对特定的应用。 壳聚糖-表面活性剂系统的功能特性也将进行评估，以建立组合物，分子组织或微观结构和性能之间的关系。

Polymer-surfactant pairs play a critical role in many cosmetic and agriculture products as well as paint and pharmaceutical formulations. The high molecular weight polymers and low molecular weight surfactants are often combined to take advantage of their unique and synergistic properties; for example, the mechanical properties of the polymer and self-assembly behavior of the surfactant. However, polymer-surfactant systems have not been fully exploited for use in biomedical and pharmaceutical applications due to the lack of information available on combinations of biopolymers and nonionic surfactants. To date, most of the fundamental studies on polymer-surfactant systems have included charged surfactants (e.g. sodium dodecyl sulfate) which have limited potential for use in biomedical applications due to their poor safety and toxicity profiles. In this way, the selection of appropriate biopolymer- nonionic surfactant pairs for biomedical applications often proceeds by trial and error. The current research is focused on establishing models to explain the behavior of solutions and properties of films formed from the natural, biocompatible polymer chitosan and nonionic surfactants. Experimental studies and computer simulations will be employed in order to gain insight into the interactions and microstructure present within these systems. Comparison of the results from the experimental and in silico studies will allow for validation of the computational methods which may be used in the future for rapid identification of the optimal polymer-surfactant pairs for specific applications. The functional properties of the chitosan-surfactant systems will also be evaluated in order to establish the relationships between composition, molecular organization or microstructure and performance.