Fundamentals of Polymer Physics and Molecular Biophysics

Macromolecules in solutions can be distinctly characterised by their transport behaviour in solution phase. The study of the transport processes includes diffusion coefficient, sedimentation coefficient, intrinsic viscosity and friction constant. The question arises as to how to explicitly characterise the macromolecules from the data of coefficients. This book answers this question in a systematic manner. It provides physical interpretation of the data obtained in macromolecular transport phenomena in a given system and also addresses some important issues and concepts related to biopolymers such as proteins and nucleic acids. The application of concepts like conformational properties and salient physicochemical features of protein and nucleic acids is also elucidated in the book. Based on the molecular structure, it provides the essential concepts which can be used to model and analyse the static and transport behaviour of polymers and biopolymers.

List of figures; Preface; 1. Essential thermodynamic and statistical concepts; 2. Polymer structure and nomenclature; 3. Polymer solutions; 4. Phase stability and phase transitions; 5. Static properties of single chains; 6. Diffusion; 7. Viscosity of polymer solutions; 8. Sedimentation; 9. Concentration regimes and scaling; 10. Internal dynamics; 11. Dynamics in polymer gels; 12. Molecular biophysics; 13. Structure of biopolymers; 14. Physics of proteins; 15. Physics of nucleic acids; 16. Special topics; Index.

Himadri B. Bohidar is an established researcher in the field of polymer science and molecular biophysics, and has 23 years of teaching experience. He has pursued research work for more than eight years at various universities including Purdue University, USA; the University of Oslo, Norway; the University of Grenoble, France; and the University of New South Wales, Australia. He has given many invited talks at scientific conferences, both national and international, and is co-editor of the book Polymer Gels: Fundamentals and Applications (2002). Presently, he is working as Chairperson of the Special Center for Nanosciences at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.