9523657 Thomas This Americas Program award will support a research collaboration between Dr. J. Kerry Thomas, University of Notre Dame and Dr. Andres Olea, University of Chile, on a kinetic and thermodynamic study of anionic polyelectrolytes. The polymer systems to be studied are poly and copolymers of maleic anhydride and styrene. The P.I.'s intend to evaluate the effect of hydrophobicity and charge density on the microdomains generated in aqueous solutions of these polymers. The goals of the study are to identify the structural parameters which determine the formation and size of the hydrophobic aggregates; to evaluate the solubilization capacity of organic molecules by these aggregates; and to investigate by stopped flow studies the dynamic nature of both processes. This collaboration will benefit from the complementary expertise of the two researchers as well as from the facilities in both institutions. The University of Notre Dame has a variety of laser systems to excite photosystems with short pulses of light, and the University of Chile has a laboratory of polymer synthesis where both the synthesis and identification of the copolymers will be made. ***
