Affiliation:
1. Department of Biophysics, Bose Institute P-1/12 C.I.T. Scheme VII-M Kolkata 700054 India
2. Department of Physical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata Mohanpur 741246, WB India rangeet@iiserkol.ac.in
Abstract
We discuss here some of the recent developments of NMR methods which rely on solvent relaxation and yield valuable information about the interface of smart polymers in aqueous solutions. Smart polymers, such as pH-responsive or thermotropic, form structures in the form of micelles or globules in solutions. Such structures could be controlled by varying parameters which control the behavior of the smart polymer, such as the pH or temperature of the solution. These structures have interfaces where proton exchange with the solvent takes place. This proton exchange affects the relaxation of the solvent. As such, by monitoring the changes in the relaxation of the solvent with respect to the pH or temperature of the solvent, one can monitor the interface. This chapter provides simple explanations of the principles involved in the solvent relaxation method.
Publisher
The Royal Society of Chemistry