Soft Fibrillar Materials: Fabrication and Applications

As one of the most important classes of soft materials, supramolecular materials are of a mixture of networks of molecular chains/fibrils and a liquid. These self–assembled fibrous/ molecular architectures exhibit various functionalities, ie. superhydrophobicity or superior mechanical strength, etc. and consist of the controllable structures. They can be functioned via micro/nano engineering, to have some particular added functions, ie. emission materials, tissue engineering scaffolds, bio imaging and sensing materials etc. They have therefore found broad applications in photography, cosmetics, food and petroleum industries and not the least in the biomedical sector where there is strong interest in these materials as drug delivery agents. The book covers the most important soft functional materials, including small molecule physical gels, silkworm silk and spider silk fibers and functional fibers, with respect both to the fundamentals and to development and engineering methods. It provides the reader with the necessary knowledge on the chemical and physical formation mechanisms of these materials and demonstrates that one can rationally design and tune the fibrillar networks so that the resulting materials exhibit the desired functionalities. This work is a must–have for all Materials Scientists, Polymer Chemists, Condensed Matter Physicists, and Biotechnologists working in this interdisciplinary field. INDICE: Preface XI List of Contributors XV Section I Small Molecule Gels 1 1 Molecular Gels and their Fibrillar Networks 3 Kevin L. Caran, Dong–Chan Lee, and Richard G. Weiss 1.1 Introduction 3 1.2 Advances and Perspectives for Design of Gelators 6 1.3 Stimulation of Gelation by Perturbations Other Than Temperature 33 1.4 Kinetic Models for Following One–Dimensional Growth and Gelation 50 1.5 Advances and Perspectives for a Priori Design of Gelators 59 1.6 Some Final Thoughts 66 Acknowledgments 67 References 67 2 Engineering of Small–Molecule Gels Based on the Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Fiber Formation 77 Jing–Liang Li and Xiang Yang Liu 2.1 Introduction 77 2.2 Fiber Networks of SMGs 78 2.3 Crystallization of Nanofibers 84 2.4 Strategies for Engineering the Micro/Nano Structure of Fiber Networks 94 2.5 Engineering the Macroscopic Properties of Gels by Design of Fiber Networks 107 2.6 Conclusions 111 References 111 3 Applications of Small–Molecule Gels – Drug Delivery 115 Lifeng Kang, Han Hui Cheong, Sui Yung Chan and Perry Fung Chye Lim 3.1 Introduction 115 3.2 Hydrogels in Pharmaceutical Applications 117 3.3 Organogels in Pharmaceutical Applications 119 3.4 Organogel Delivery of Bioactive Factors in Regenerative Medicine 123 3.5 Future Directions: Hybrid Organogels 123 3.6 Conclusion 125 References 125 4 Molecular Gels for Tissue Engineering 129 Jun Yan, Bin Sheng Wong, and Lifeng Kang 4.1 Introduction 129 4.2 Low–Molecular–Weight Gelators and Molecular Gels 129 4.3 Self–Assembly and Gel Structures 131 4.4 Applications of Hydrogels in Tissue Engineering 133 4.5 Summary 155 List of Abbreviations 156 Appendix: Gelators and their Potential Use and Applications 157 References 159 5 Molecular Gels for Controlled Formation of Micro–/Nano–Structures 163 Jing–Liang Li and Xiang Yang Liu 5.1 Introduction 163 5.2 Structure of Metal/Transition Metal Oxide and Sulfate 164 5.3 Metallic Nanostructures 170 5.4 Controlled Formation of Organic and Composite Structures 175 5.5 Controlling Crystal Growth of Pharmaceutical Substances 176 5.6 Conclusions and Perspectives 177 References 179 Section II Natural Silk Fibrous Materials 183 6 Spider Silk: Structure, Engineering, and Applications 185 Ning Du and Xiang Yang Liu 6.1 Introduction 185 6.2 Mechanical Design of Spider Silk 187 6.3 Mimicking Spider Silk 194 6.4 Applications 201 References 204 7 Functionalization of Colored/Fluorescent Silkworm Silk Fibrous Materials 209 Naibo Lin, Xiang Yang Liu, Hongyao Xu, Guoyang William Toh, and Jing–Liang Li 7.1 Introduction 209 7.2 Legend and History of Silkworm Silk 210 7.3 The Structure of Silkworm Silk 211 7.4 Functionalization of Silkworm Silk 215 7.5 Summary and Outlook 227 References 227 Section III Smart Fibers 233 8 Flexible Nanogenerator and Nano–Pressure Sensor Based on Nanofiber Web of PVDF and its Copolymers 235 Chunye Xu and Kap Jin Kim 8.1 Introduction 235 8.2 Electrospinning Mechanism and Set–up 236 8.3 Nanofiber Web 237 8.4 Piezoelectric Properties of Electrospun Web of PVDF and its Copolymer 245 8.5 Flexible Devices 255 8.6 Conclusion 261 References 263 9 Electrospun Nanofibers for Regenerative Medicine 265 Wenying Liu, Stavros Thomopoulos, and Younan Xia 9.1 Introduction 265 9.2 Electrospinning of Nanofibers 267 9.3 Controlling the Alignment of Nanofibers 273 9.4 Nanofiber Scaffolds with Complex Architectures 277 9.5 Applications in Regenerative Medicine 280 9.6 Concluding Remarks 290 Acknowledgments 291 References 291 Index 297

• ISBN: 978-3-527-33162-8
• Editorial: Wiley VCH
• Encuadernacion: Cartoné
• Páginas: 320
• Fecha Publicación: 18/09/2013
• Nº Volúmenes: 1
• Idioma: Inglés