Al-Sheikhly Delivers Polymer Conference Keynote

Department of Materials Science and Engineering professor Mohamad Al-Sheikhly was a keynote speaker at the 11th Pacific Polymer Conference (PPC11), held December 6—10 in Cairns, Australia and in conjunction with the 31st Australasian Polymer Symposium (31APS).

Al-Sheikhly's talk, titled "On the Mechanisms of Synthesis of Polymer Nano-Hydrogels Using Pulsed Electron Beams," discussed the use of nano-hydrogels made of biocompatible hydrophilic polymers that can be used in a variety of medical applications, including drug delivery and imaging. He described his research group's investigation of the radiation-induced synthesis of functionalized polymer nano-hydrogels that can serve as targeted nanomedicine carriers, and can be selectively guided to tumors using the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. He also described the effects of pulsed electron beam irradiation on the polymers' inter-molecular crosslinking during synthesis.

The combined Pacific Polymer Conference and Australasian Polymer Symposium gathered leading polymer scientists and engineers from around the world to present research on topics including polymerization methodologies, polymer architecture, nanocomposites, polymers for use in biological and medical applications, interfaces, polymers in energy applications, and mechanical properties of polymers.

For More Information:

Visit the PPC11 web site »
Visit Professor Al-Sheikhly's homepage »

Published December 7, 2009