Publisher's Synopsis
This volume of Macromolecular Symposia contains papers presented at the Polymer Networks 2004 Conference, held in Bethesda, MD, in August 2004. The conference highlighted the latest findings in the fields of materials science, nanotechnology, surface science, rheology, and modeling relevant to the formation, structure and application of synthetic and biopolymer networks and gels. In particular, the conference focused on contemporary experimental tools and theoretical models to describe biological phenomena with physical concepts that allow predictive, model–driven research. The collection of papers illustrates the revolution that this rapidly expanding field of polymer science is currently experiencing, notably in the areas of biomedical research, medical diagnostics and biotechnology.