Biomaterials have been used for artificial-organ and bioreactor materials, and have gained importance for enhancement of human welfare. This book summarizes research devoted to creating useful biofunctional materials by chemical modification of natural polymers, and forecasts future development.

This book is a collection of the addresses of the keynote speakers and invited lecturers as well as manuscripts of a few outstanding papers which were delivered at the First Pacific Polymer Conference organized by the Pacific Polymer Federation in Maui, Hawaii, 12-15 December, 1989. The First Pacific Polymer Conference covered a wide variety of topics in macromolecular science, demonstrating the emphasis given to polymer research in the Pacific Rim countries. The keynote speakers and invited lecturers are excellent scientists and leaders of effort who covered their fields expertly and in many cases gave their own perspective on the future of polymer science and engineering. A panel discussion on the role of polymers in the arts interested the attendees and emphasized the pervasiveness of polymers in all facets of life. The meeting was attended by over 500 scientists from all over the world. The participants left the meeting with renewed feeling for the importance of polymers in the material sciences and impressed by the progress in polymer research and development. This book, therefore, provides a wide -angle snapshot of the polymer research as we enter the 1990's. It is a useful book for all scientists interested in polymers and the progress of our science in the countries of the Pacific Rim. We hope that many attendees were stimulated by the meeting and that new ideas and new collaborations will result which will further enrich research, and lead to new useful polymers for all countries.