This volume is based on lectures given at the NATO-Advanced Study Institute on Structure and Dynamics of Polymer and Colloid Systems held in Les Houches, France from September 14-24, 1999. The meeting arose from a perceived need to bring together scientists studying the polymer and colloid fields. Although these fields are intertwined and share many techniques (e. g. , light, neutron and x-ray scattering), it is remarkable how little the approaches and concepts used by the one field penetrate the other. For instance, the theory of spherical colloids is very highly developed and many of the concepts developed for these systems can be extended to those with non-spherical morphology, such as solutions of rigid rod polymers. In addition, mixtures of polymers and colloids, both in the bulk and at interfaces, are the basis for many industrial products. Methods are now rapidly being developed for understanding the structure and dynamics in polymer/colloid mixtures at the molecular level, but the point of view of the colloid scientist is often rather different from that of the polymer scientist. The NATO-ASI brought together polymer and colloid scientists, including many young researchers, who presented and discussed recent developments in these fields and the possibilities for cross-fertilization This volume contains articles on a wide variety of topics at the research forefront of the polymer and colloid fields by some of the world's foremost experts at a level accessible to graduate students, post-docs and researchers.

This volume is based on lectures given at the NATO-Advanced Study Institute on Structure and Dynamics of Polymer and Colloid Systems held in Les Houches, France from September 14-24, 1999. The meeting arose from a perceived need to bring together scientists studying the polymer and colloid fields. Although these fields are intertwined and share many techniques (e. g. , light, neutron and x-ray scattering), it is remarkable how little the approaches and concepts used by the one field penetrate the other. For instance, the theory of spherical colloids is very highly developed and many of the concepts developed for these systems can be extended to those with non-spherical morphology, such as solutions of rigid rod polymers. In addition, mixtures of polymers and colloids, both in the bulk and at interfaces, are the basis for many industrial products. Methods are now rapidly being developed for understanding the structure and dynamics in polymer/colloid mixtures at the molecular level, but the point of view of the colloid scientist is often rather different from that of the polymer scientist. The NATO-ASI brought together polymer and colloid scientists, including many young researchers, who presented and discussed recent developments in these fields and the possibilities for cross-fertilization This volume contains articles on a wide variety of topics at the research forefront of the polymer and colloid fields by some of the world's foremost experts at a level accessible to graduate students, post-docs and researchers.

This book reports the preparation and characterization of new rod-coil amphiphiles functionalized with oligo- and polysaccharides through Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions between species functionalized by an azide group on one side and an terminal alkyne on the other catalyzed by copper. The amphiphiles were synthesized and characterized based on different hydrophobic parts conjugated with the polymer poly(ethylene oxide) PEO with a hydrophilic spacer arm and the oligo- and polyssaccharides 2-propargyl-2-acetamido- 2-deoxy- -D-glucopyranose (GlcNAc) and propargyl -D-galactopyranosyl-(1-4)- -D-glucopyranose (Lac). The amphiphiles synthesized were characterized in terms of their chemical structure and composition through nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), mass spectroscopy (MALDI-TOF-MS and ESI-MS)and high resolution mass spectroscopy (HRMS). After the dissolution in water, the amphiphiles self-associate in highly regular micelles with an average diameter of 2RH 10nm. Dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) were used in order to investigate the structure and dynamics of these saccharide amphiphiles."