Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Dynamics And Structure Of Polyelectrolyte Complexes, Hamidreza Shojaei-Mahib

Doctoral Dissertations

Interaction of charged macromolecules among themselves and with charged interfaces in salty aqueous medium is a common phenomenon prevalent in biology and synthetic systems. We have addressed several inter-related issues in this general context. First we present a theory of adsorption of polyelectrolytes on the interior and exterior surfaces of a charged spherical vesicle. We derive the critical adsorption condition and the density profile of the polymer in terms of various characteristics of the polymer, vesicle, and the solution, such as the length and charge density of polymer, the radius and charge of the vesicle, the salt concentration of the …