9358406 DePablo The project focuses on developing a theoretical understanding of the structure and equilibrium thermodynamic properties of complex fluids. The transport properties and non-equilibrium behavior is also explored theoretically. An experimental component aimed at validating the results of the theoretical work is also included in the project. The complex fluids include polymer melts and polymer solutions, especially in confined geometrics such as in porous media or as in model biological membranes. In the theoretical investigations, efforts will be made to develop further improvements in pair distribution functions for the highly asymmetric mixtures of polymeric fluids. Efforts are underway to ameliorate existing integral-equation methods for polymers. The project also involves studies to develop stochastic methods to mimic the motion of flexible molecules as they travel through dense media, e.g. dense polymers, underground reservoirs. Another line of investigation deals with cryopreservation of food, plants, and pharmaceuticals through addition of small amounts of cryoprotectants (e.g. disaccharides or polymeric molecules) in dilute electrolyte solutions. ***
