Phase Phenomena in Polymer Networks Empirical Studies on the Influence of Hydrophobicity, Charge Density and Crosslinks on Macroion-Induced Phase Transitions in Polyelectrolyte Gels

Sammanfattning: The thesis concerns polyelectrolyte gels in contact with oppositely charged proteins and surfactant micelles, and includes of four papers (I-IV). In paper I confocal Raman spectroscopy was introduced as a method to trace micelles and investigate the structure of gel-surfactant complexes, in phase separated gel spheres. In paper II, the binding of surfactants to microspheres (~50-100 µm) was investigated by means of a micromanipulator-assisted microscopy method. The two surfactants were found to display qualitative difference respect to degree of swelling, surfactant distribution in the gels, and the difference is discussed in terms of absence/presence of hydrophobic attraction to the polyelectrolyte gel network. Kinetics of volume change in gels were analyzed. Aggregation numbers of micelles in polystyrenesulfonate (PSS) solutions, obtained from fluorescence quenching measurements, are presented. In paper III, phase behaviour, protein assembly and diffusion, was studied in PSS gel microspheres. Interpretation of results was aided by measurements of osmotic swelling of individual gel networks, and by combining the results with studies of protein diffusion in macroscopic (cm-sized) gel spheres. Complexes formed were further analyzed with small angle x-ray spectroscopy. In paper IV phase behaviour of mixed ionic/nonionic surfactant micelles is investigated in cm-sized gel spheres. The coexistence of three phases, the formation of dense shells in the bulk of the gels and other phenomena are described for the first time, and the results are presented along with discussion on the charge-density of spherical micelles and of  network induced hysteresis effects in gels. The composition and microstructure of phases are investigated by confocal Raman spectroscopy and small-angle x-ray scattering respectively. The results are interpreted with aid of highly detailed theoretical model calculations.