Theory of polyzwitterionic solutions

ORAL

Abstract

Conformations of polyzwitterionic molecules in aqueous solutions are investigated using the variational method. We have carried out self-consistent calculations for the degree of counterion adsorption on the zwitterionic sites and the size of a single polyzwitterionic chain. These calculations are used to analyze the solubility of these molecules in water. Results for the effect of an asymmetric counterion adsorption, electrostatic interaction strength, salt concentration, solvent quality, specificity of the zwitterionic monomeric units and the added salt on the conformations of the polyzwitterionic chain will be presented.

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Authors

  • Rajeev Kumar

    Materials Research Lab, UCSB

  • Glenn Fredrickson

    UCSB - MC CAM, Materials Research Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara, University of California, Santa Barbara, Materials Research Lab, UCSB, Department of Chemical Engineering and the Materials Research Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara, UCSB, USA, UC Santa Barbara, UCSB