CHEM 204 Lecture Notes - Polyelectrolyte, Ion, Adsorption
15 Jul 2013
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Document Summary
A problem with implants is that their surfaces are not bio-compatible and quickly rejected by our bodies. An electrode in the brain can only be there for 2 hours before rejection. The goal is to coat the surfaces of contact lenses, sutures, stents, artificial limbs, bone grafts, dentistry, etc. It"s not a chemistry problem, the charge/surface ions/protein absorption/water content/physical morphology are all important. Originally people couldn"t wear contacts for more than a day. We thought they were just dirty so they put on a chemical paint but that didn"t work either. We need to change the electrochemistry and water content! Implant materials are way too dry and too hydrophboic and too hard -- by a factor of a million! Biology is wet, gooey, soft, charged, ion rich, and pliable! Theory: how a protein is spread or absorbed onto a surface depends on its gibbs energy. Recall that a polymer chain of n units of size.
