Recent Progress in Separation of Macromolecules and Particulates
ACS Symposium Series

Separation and characterization of materials is an essential step in the advancement of science and technology. The need for separation and characterization could arise from wishes to obtain purified samples with less contaminants, requirements for quality control of materials for downstream applications, or needs to identify structures and conformations of active species present in the applications. The types of materials encountered in applications are diverse, from synthetic polymers and biological derived biopolymers to micro or submicro particles and various conjugated or self-assembled nanomaterials. This makes the task of separation and characterization challenging. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Scientists, whether working in academia or in industries, are constantly facing new challenges. Communication between scientists is essential for keeping each other updated on developments in the field. This was the motivation for organizing the symposium on "Recent Progress in Separation of Macromolecules and Particulates" at the 2017 Spring National American Chemical Society (ACS) Meeting in San Francisco. Symposiums based on such a theme have been organized several times in ACS meetings as well as in other settings, but no such symposium books have been published. Hence, the editors decided to put together this symposium book, based on the talks presented at the symposium, in the hope that knowledge shared at the meeting can be shared more broadly within the community and beyond.

Yongmei Wang (Ph.D) is a professor in Chemistry Department at The University of Memphis. She received her B.S. degree from University of Science and Technology of China in 1985 and PhD in Chemistry from University of Notre Dame in 1990. Her research interests are theoretical/computational studies for polymer characterization, polymer based gene delivery and nanomedicines. She has published over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles, organized/ co-organized symposiums in the areas of separation and characterization of macromolecules and nanoparticles, gene delivery and nanomedicines. She was the recipient of Dunavant Professorship from the University of Memphis, and the Alumni Association of Distinguished Research Award from the University of Memphis. Wei Gao (Ph.D) is a Senior Research Scientist in Analytical Sciences, Corporate R&D, at The Dow Chemical Company. She received her B.S. degree from Fudan University in 1991 and PhD in Polymer Chemistry and Physics from Peking University in 1997. Her research interests are on synthesis-structure-property relationship of polymeric and colloidal products, characterization of macromolecules and colloids through separation with advanced detections, and sustainable polymers. She has published over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, more than 20 patents and patent applications. She organized/co-organized ACS symposiums in the areas of separation and characterization of macromolecules and particles, polymer sciences for everyday things, and polymer colloids. She also served in scientific program committee for GPC2015 conference and the international symposium on Field- and Flow-based separations (FFF2018). She was the recipient of NOVA Innovation Award from Rohm and Haas Company, and US EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards. Sara Orski is a Research Chemist in the Materials Science and Engineering Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). She earned her B.S. degree at The