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pH-Responsive Polymer

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Encyclopedia of Polymeric Nanomaterials

Synonyms

pH-sensitive polymer; Polyelectrolytes

Definition

pH-responsive polymers are smart polymers that undergo changes in structures and properties such as conformation, hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity, solubility, volume, and so on in response to a change in pH. Polymers with acidic or basic groups like carboxy, sulfonyl, and amino groups are typically described as pH-responsive polymers because the ionization of the groups by pH changes results in changes in structures and properties of the polymer chains.

Key Principles, Examples, and Synthesis of pH-responsive Polymers

pH-responsive polymers undergo changes in structures and properties such as conformation, hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity, solubility, and volume in response to external pH. For example, poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAAc) shows reversible phase transition between soluble and insoluble state in response to pH changes. A change in pH induces the conformational changes in poly(L-lysine) between α-helix and random coil....

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Kansai University, Suita, 564-8680, Osaka, Japan

    Akifumi Kawamura & Takashi Miyata

Authors
  1. Akifumi Kawamura
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  2. Takashi Miyata
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Takashi Miyata .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Kyoto Institute of Technology R & D Center for Bio-Based Materials, Kyoto, Japan

    Shiro Kobayashi

  2. Max-Planck-Institut für Polymerforschung, Mainz, Germany

    Klaus Müllen

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Kawamura, A., Miyata, T. (2014). pH-Responsive Polymer. In: Kobayashi, S., Müllen, K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Polymeric Nanomaterials. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36199-9_211-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36199-9_211-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-36199-9

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