Polymer Chemistry Blog

Zesheng An obtained his BS and MS degrees from Shandong University in 1997 and 2000, respectively. He then went to the University of Arizona to pursue his PhD degree and spent three years there from 2000 to 2003. After moving to Georgia Institute of Technology and spending two years from 2003 to 2005, he got his PhD in Chemistry with Prof. Seth R. Marder. His PhD thesis was focused on the synthesis and characterization of organic semiconductors, especially discotic liquid crystals with high charge-carrier mobility, for applications in optoelectronics. From 2005 to 2008, he was a postdoc at the University of California, Santa Barbara with Prof. Galen D. Stucky and Prof. Craig J. Hawker, working on the synthesis of polymer nanoparticles. In 2008, he joined the Institute of Nanochemistry and Nanobiology, Shanghai University, where he is now a Professor of Special Appointment (Eastern Scholar) at Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learning. His current research is focused on RAFT heterogeneous polymerization in water, which in turn serves as a platform for designing interesting materials such as nanogels and core cross-linked star polymers. Applications of these materials in emulsion and biotechnology are being investigated within the group and through collaboration with other groups within the Institute.

What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist?

I have to confess that I was very much interested and did pretty well in chemistry in high school, it was however not until I met Prof. Marder at the University of Arizona that I decided to make a career out of it. Indeed, Prof. Marder was and has always been a successful career model for me.

What was the motivation to write your Polymer Chemistry article? (DOI:10.1039/C2PY20442H)

RAFT polymerization has become mature and has been widely used in the synthesis of well-defined polymers. Over the past several years, RAFT polymerization in heterogeneous polymerization media, especially in water, has witnessed significant development, which often combines polymerization and self-assembly of the produced polymers in the same system. This polymerization-induced self-assembly process has been used for the synthesis of colloids of various morphologies such as spheres, fibers and vesicles. Significantly, not only the synthesized polymers are controlled by RAFT, but also can the nano-objects of various morphologies be synthesized at high solid content (>10%). We have exploited such polymerization-induced self-assembly process to synthesize core cross-linked star (CCS) polymers via both RAFT emulsion and dispersion polymerization (Chem. Commun. 2011, 47, 12685-12687; 2012, 48, 7389-7391). This robust strategy features high concentration, high efficiency, high star yield and high star quality. In the current work, we directly polymerized polyPEGMA in aqueous solution up to complete monomer conversion and used it as the arm without separation/purification to synthesize CCS in RAFT heterogeneous polymerization in water. We also investigated the effect of various parameters on the formation of CCS.

Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work?

Number one, Polymer Chemistry publishes high quality papers in my research area, so it is a nice place to publish my own work. Number two, through the submission experience of my previous paper published in Polymer Chemistry, I highly appreciate the way that the editors handle the review process, being highly efficient and with great fairness. Number three, Polymer Chemistry is becoming one of the leading journals in polymer science, so it is exciting to publish papers in such an excellent journal.

In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you?

Well, I do not have plans to attend any conference at the moment. I guess I will attend more conferences in the following years.

How do you spend your spare times?

I used to play soccer but quit after an injury of my tibia. Now, I am trying to spend more time with my family, making dinner, playing Go with my daughter, walking my dog…

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

Aha, I have not realized anything that I could do better than making polymers. If I were not a scientist, I guess I might end up as a journalist.

Ulrica Edlund, associate professor and senior lecturer at Fibre and Polymer Technology, KTH, was rewarded a Ph.D. in Polymer Technology in 2000 followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA. Since 2002, she is affiliated with KTH at Fibre and Polymer Technology. Her expertise comprises synthesis, surface modification, and characterization of polymeric biomaterials, the design of controlled drug delivery matrices, and the development of functional formulations and materials from renewable resources.

She has contributed to inventing and developing a new, non-destructive, one-step technique for the covalent surface modification of biomaterials. She has also been very active in the design of renewable functional materials for a sustainable future including renewable films, coatings, microspheres, and hydrogel formulations based on more or less purified non-cellulosic oligo- and polysaccharide rich fractions generated in commercial wood processing operations such as pulping (2 patents, 1 pending application).

She has received several awards, including the Nobel Foundation scholarship, and was in 2002 selected as one of the “outstanding young European scientists forming the future European network” by the European Polymer Federation. Ulrica was in 2010 awarded KTHs Teaching Award for outstanding efforts in undergraduate education.

What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist?

Chemistry never fails to intrigue me. Chemical processes are everywhere, in everything and they are what makes us exist. The more you learn about the chemistry, the more you know about the world. Why macromolecular chemistry in particular? Allow me to quote Professor de Gennes (Nobel laurate in 1991) who expressed that so elegantly:

“…it is not only their applications that make polymers so fascinating. The greatest incentive for polymer science is life itself. All the answers to the mystery of life are connected with polymers in one way or another.”

What was the motivation to write your Polymer Chemistry article? (DOI: 10.1039/C2PY20421E)

Protein fouling is a critical problem for the vast majority of biomaterials in contact with biological milleu, in particular blood plasma. So far only polymer based carboxybetaines have successfully prevented this negative event. The development of new materials with non-fouling surfaces is urgently requested in the biomedical materials industry. However, hybrids of biological and synthetic non-fouling polymers require the use of polymerisation techniques accounting for control at the molecular and supramolecular level while avoiding the use of any toxic catalysts or harsh conditions. How, us four co-authors asked ourselves, do we accomplish this and at the same time acknowledge the growing need for green conditions and renewable resources when developing new chemistry?

We have worked for many years with the development of hemicellulose-rich functional materials derived from by-products of the wood processing industry. In addition to being a cheap and renewable bulk material, we have previously shown that hemicellulose can be converted to multi-site initiators that are able to initiate single electron transfer living radical polymerisation (SET-LRP) and produce vinyl-graft-glucopolymers with a molecular brush-like architecture. In the present work, we developed such a macroinitiator as well as the new betaine monomers and combined them to achieve a state-of-the-art SET-LRP of these carboxybetaine monomers in water at room temperature. The prepared grafted copolymers self-assembled in spheres with the antifouling polymer at the external layer. We were excited to find that the assembled copolymers are remarkably stable in water. There are a range of possible bioapplications where the interaction with proteins must be prevented.

Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work?

Polymer Chemistry is a relatively new, yet already well established, forum with high quality papers that cover a large span of chemical aspects related to macromolecular systems. Our paper does not really fit into just one corner of polymer chemistry, but addresses new advancements in “living” radical polymerisation, polysaccharide chemistry, self-assembly, as well as the needs for non-fouling biomaterials and renewable functional materials. We felt Polymer Chemistry would be the perfect place to reach a broader audience in both academia and industry and we are excited to have our work published in this journal.

In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you?

My co-author Ann-Christine Albertsson and I look very much forward to attending the upcoming 244^th ACS National Meeting in Philadelphia, USA, August 19-24. Later this year, October 23-25, we will be in Helsinki, Finland, for the Nordic Wood Biorefinery Conference.

How do you spend your spare times?

I have 3 children, three boys (ages 9, 6 and 3) so I do not have one minute of boredom! I am very lucky to enjoy their everyday company and to share their activities and interests, whether it is soccer practice, reading stories, playing computer games, or LEGO constructions. Whenever I can find some time, I play the piano and I also enjoy baking (which is chemistry, really…). I do plenty of experimenting with cakes and cup cakes at home, with the kind and quite messy help of my sons.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a chemist?

Oh, there are so many aspects of Natural Science and technology that I would really enjoy digging into. Lately, thanks to my older sons, I read and studied a lot about minerals and rocks, and I find geology very interesting. They also made me discover the fascinating world of dinosaurs. Paleontology, perhaps? In some way, somehow, I think I would still be a scientist.

Shiao-Wei Kuo received his BSc degree in Chemical Engineering from National Chung-Hsing University in 1998 and Ph.D degree in Applied Chemistry from National Chiao-Tung University in Taiwan in 2002 where he worked with Prof. Feng-Chih Chang. He continued his research work at Chiao-Tung University as a postdoctoral researcher during 2002-2007. From September 2005 to April 2006, he was also a postdoctoral researcher with Prof. Stephen Z. D. Cheng at the University of Akron in USA. He joined Department of Materials and Optoelectronic Science, National Sun Yat-Sen University in Taiwan as an assistant professor in 2007 and was promoted to associate professor in 2010. He has published ca. 160 research papers, 3 review articles and 3 book chapters. His research interests include polymer interactions, supramolecular chemistry, self-assembly nanostructures, mesoporous materials, POSS nanocomposites, polymer bioconjugates, and low surface free energy materials.

For more information see here: http://www.mse.nsysu.edu.tw/people/bio.php?PID=23

What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist?

When I was a high school student, I was interested in mathematics. Chemistry is difficult to attract me since we only learn the chemistry knowledge from the textbook and lack the hands-on chemical experiment at that moment. However, I had the highest score in chemistry for my university entrance exam held in Taiwan that year and I was assigned to department of chemical engineering in Chung-Hsing University. During that period, I discovered that polymer research is fascinating work and the hands-on experience in a laboratory setting provided me with numerous opportunities to corroborate what I had learned from textbook and then extend that knowledge to an independent search for innovative solutions. At Chiao-Tung University, the excellent research environment and abundant academic resources also enhanced my research capabilities and equipped me with the competence to fully realize my research aspirations in polymer chemistry, including the synthetic methods such as anionic polymerization, controlled radical living polymerization, and ring-opening polymerization.

What was the motivation behind the research in your recent Polymer Chemistry paper?(DOI:10.1039/C2PY20197F)

My Ph.D. thesis was focused on the hydrogen bonding interaction in polymer blend systems. At the end of postdoctoral research, my research interest was changed to self-assembly supramolecular structure of diblock copolymer mixture such as poly(styrene-b-vinyl phenol) diblock copolymer blending with poly(4-vinyl pyridine) or poly(methyl methacrylate) through hydrogen bonding interaction. In general, these interactions have been formed through single-site hydrogen bonding (e.g., hydroxyl, carboxyl, pyridyl, or ether groups), but they are relatively weaker than the complementary multiple hydrogen bonding interactions formed in DNA-like complexes. As a result, we wished to mimic DNA-like interactions to synthesize heteronucleobase (thymine)-containing diblock copolymers by using a combination of nitroxide-mediated radical polymerization and click chemistry, which we then blended with the adenine-based molecules to form self-assembly supramolecular structures, through strong complementary multiple hydrogen bonds, with different length scales.

Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work?

From the website, the scope of Polymer Chemistry including novel properties and characterization of polymers, synthesis and application of polymer bioconjugates, supramolecular polymer chemistry, and polymer nanocomposites is very close to my recent research interest. It is natural for me to publish our research papers in this journal and we also publish several papers in this journal in this year due to broad readership and fast review process and publication. Most importantly, Polymer Chemistry is an excellent journal with high quality and impact manuscript in polymer science.

In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you?

I will attend the Symposium about liquid crystal and supramolecular self-assembly structure in Xiangtan City in China during August 26-29, and the 2^nd Symposium on Innovative Polymers for Controlled Delivery in Suzhou, in China during September 11-14.

How do you spend your spare times?

I have two small children and I spend almost my free time to take care of my daughter and son. I like travelling with my family and watching sport games on TV, especially in baseball and basketball when I have free time.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

For hundreds of years and countless generations, people in my family have been farmers or fishermen in my hometown. My father and my brother both are still fishermen now and maybe I will enjoy this job to get along with the sea. However, I like to teach and to do research now and I think that it is the best choice for me at this moment.

Dr Wantai Yang received his bachelor’s degree from Tsinghua University in China in 1982 and MS degree in 1985 from Beijing Institute of Chemical Technology (presently known as Beijing University of Chemical Technology, BUCT), and Ph.D. degree from Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden in 1996. He started his research career in 1985 at BUCT where he is currently a Professor of Polymer Chemistry and serves as Dean of College of Materials Sci. & Eng. He has published more than 290 peer-reviewed papers in international journals and filed over 15 patents. He also has been an invited speaker and/or chairman at more than 20 international meetings. Professor Yang has received many honors and awards for his outstanding research achievements, including Natural Science Award of Ministry of Education (2009), China National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholar (1999) and Chair Professor of Cheung Kong Scholars Programme (2001). He is the Vice-President of Chinese Society for Imaging Science and Technology (CSIST), and members of the editorial board of several journals including Biomacromolecules, Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, Membrane Sci. and Tech., Process Engineering and Thermosetting Resin.

His research interest focuses on basic/fundamental chemistry for polymer synthesis and modification. At present his main directions include photopolymerization, controlled/living polymerization, heterogeneous polymerization, new chemistry for surface modification of  organic polymeric material.

For more information, see: http://www.cmse1.buct.edu.cn/ywt/cncss/yjly.asp

What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist?

There are two reasons for me to become a chemist. One is the strong will to know what is polymer science, which seems so curious and mysterious to me before I went to university. Another is due to my high school teacher, who is a very kind person. When I knew he graduated from major of Polymer Science of Tsinghua University just before applying to university, I firmly determined to study polymer science.

What was the motivation to write this article? (DOI: 10.1039/C2PY20117H)

As we known, although the developments in the past 20 years have involved a series of breakthroughs in the living radical polymerization (LRP) field, we have to face the fact that due to inherent drawbacks for each method, even abundant efforts have been endeavored, large-scale industrial applications of LRP remain a big challenge, and a possible alternative solution is return to full organic system. We have presented the first example of living radical graft polymerization on the surface of polymeric materials by use of benzophenone (BP), xanthone and 9-fluorenone as graft polymerization photoinitiators (Macromolecules, 1996, 29, 3308). Therefore, one motivation of this work is to direct the similar reaction into bulk and solution polymerization system to open/explore a novel controlled/living radical polymerization. While another motivation, we hope, our work could attract more chemists pay attention to full organic, especially to this kind of system with cycloketone compounds.

Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work?

Although it is a new journal, Polymer Chemistry has become one of top journal in polymer science. It is our great pleasure to publish our work in this journal due to its good visibility.

In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you?

I will attend the 20th Annual International Conference on Composites or Nano Engineering, ICCE-20, July 22-28, 2012 in Beijing and the 244th ACS National Meeting in Philadelphia on 19–23 August 2012.

How do you spend your spare times?

I enjoy swimming, sing songs, or listen to music.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

I would probably be a farmer or architect.

Dr Gerard Lligadas received his education in chemistry at the University Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain. He continued his studies in Tarragona and completed his PhD in 2006 on exploring the utilization of plant oils as renewable feedstock in polymer chemistry. In 2007, a postdoctoral fellowship brought him to Penn University at Philadelphia, USA, where he worked under the direction of Prof. Virgil Percec on the elaboration of single-electron transfer living radical polymerization. At the end of 2008, he came back home becoming Lecturer and joining the Suspol Research Group at URV. His research interests include new bio-based polymers from renewable resources, halogen-free flame-retardant materials and controlled radical polymerization of acrylate and methacrylate monomers.

Research group’s website: http://www.quimica.urv.es/~w3qo/suspolymers/suspolymers

What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist? I had a really great chemistry teacher during high school. But I really got into the organic chemistry and polymer science world after listening to Prof. Juan C Ronda at the University. I got really fascinated by the way he feels science!

What was the motivation to write this article? (DOI: 10.1039/C2PY20273E) The key objectives of our research come under the broad heading of the sustainable polymer chemistry. In our searching of novel biobased polyols for polyurethane technology, we came a couple of years ago with the application of thiol-ene click chemistry to unsaturated fatty acid derivatives with hydroxyl-functionalized thiols. Here, our motivation was to make a step forward and apply thiol-yne coupling to alkyne-derivatized fatty esters for its ability to add double hydroxyl functionality without compromising ester functionality, which may be used for a further polyurethane modification.

Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work? Polymer Chemistry attracted us because of the quality of the work it publishes. Moreover, it meets all the criteria of a modern journal: it has a wide scope, a broad readership and promises fast review process and publication – which I can now confirm from my own experience.

In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you? In February, my wife and I welcomed our first kid. The rest of 2012 will be quite. Next year I plan to attend 3rd Frontiers in Polymer Science Symposium.

How do you spend your spare time? I try to get some quality time each day with my wife and I am also trying to keep active with triathlon…swimming, cycling and running is a perfect release of stress cocktail.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist? Hard to say… but If I would not be a scientist, I would probably be a chef. I really enjoy trying out new recipes. My wife loves it!

Prof. Laurent Billon received his M.S. from the University of Bordeaux (1992) where he worked on anionic ring opening polymerization of cyclosilazanes.  He obtained his PhD on synthesis of functional telechelic polyimides in 1996 at the University of Pau (UPPA). Subsequent to postdoctoral research for Rhodia/Schlumberger on electro-rheological polyzwitterionic fluids (1998) and Arkema USA on acrylic-modified fluoro-polymers by seeded emulsion (1999), he started his career as Associate Professor in 2000 at the UPPA where he earned the position of Full Professor in 2010 and became Deputy Director of the Polymer team. His research interest focuses on the design of well-defined polymer structures, especially block and gradient copolymers, by controlled radical polymerization techniques.  His research activity is also focused on the development of Surface Initiated Nitroxide Mediated Polymerization to design functional hybrid colloidal particles and pigments with industrial partners. A special attention concerns the self-organized nano/micron structures, such as colloidal crystal, inverse opal or honeycomb patterns, for photonic and responsive surfaces.

What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist?

Since I was a teenager I have been fascinated by the possibility to transform the matter just by an invisible process, the chemistry. A few years after, during my License & Master degrees, I met a wonderful team of teachers in University of Bordeaux I which opened me to a new world: the polymer chemistry.

What was the motivation behind your recent Polymer Chemistry paper? (DOI: 10.1039/C1PY00357G)

It’s a long story because this study on Carbon NanoTubes CNT was developed with an industrial French partner. Few years ago, we patented and published a work on “in situ” polymerization where we were able to graft through the CNT the block copolymer chains during their growth, spontaneously. At this time, we focused only on this aspect and tried to characterize this phenomenon.

In a second contract, we focused on the polymerization kinetic in presence of raw industrial CNT without any post-modification … and we were surprised to observe a strong impact in terms of initiation and enhancement of the kinetic depending of the CNT amount. This work was first patented and finally even if we have not fully identified the mechanism of polymerization, it has been published in Polymer Chemistry. It’s a really an unexpected behavior because the initiation and growth of the chains occur in a controlled manner without any initiator and can also be better controlled by the adding of nitroxide.

This study represents a collaborative project between academic and industrial partners which can be strongly valorized by publication in Polymer Chemistry.

Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work?

Polymer Chemistry is an exciting new journal that has become a top journal in the polymer scientific community. It contains innovative and inspiring research related to all aspects of polymer chemistry, only.

In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you?

I will attend the CSM8 (May 28-31 in Beyrouth, Lebanon), EUPOC 2012 (June 3-7 in Gargnano, Italy) and Warwick 2012 (July 9-12 in Warwick, UK).

How do you spend your spare times?

I run two times a week (sometimes with my daughters) and when I have time, swim and bike. So, if I’m around Pau, in September I participate in a short triathlon or July in the swimming race, crossing the bay of Saint Jean de Luz … just for fun. But I don’t know the reason why, it’s more and more difficult … maybe the global warming!!!

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

I love breads, wines and cheeses, and also jazz and French rock music. To combine all these passions, I think I would have liked to keep a bar where you could taste organic products and enjoy jam sessions in a friendly atmosphere, curl up in sofas.

Prof. Mitsuru Ueda received his PhD degree from the Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1978. He joined Yamagata University in 1972 and was promoted to professor in 1989. He moved to the Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1999. He worked at the University of Alabama as a postdoctoral researcher from 1978 to 1979 and at IBM Almaden Research Center as a visiting researcher from 1985 to 1986. He has published more that 570 peer reviewed research papers. His current research interests are the development of new synthetic methods for condensation polymers, high refractive index polymers, polymer memory, polymer solar cells, fuel cell membranes, photosensitive materials for microelectronics, and new advanced resist materials.

What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist?

When I was a high school student, I was interested in chemistry through chemical experiments and felt that chemistry produces sometimes fantastic materials. My chemistry teacher at high school also recommended me to enter a department of applied chemistry at the university. I was very lucky to meet several excellent professors who introduced me a scientific fan of polymer chemistry and also the promise of polymers as future materials.

What was the motivation to write this article? DOI:10.1039/C2PY20093G

I have engaged in development of thermally stable and photosensitive polymers, specially, photosensitive polyimides (PSPIs) for last twenty years. However, no one knows the morphology of poly(amic acid) (PAA) films for PSPIs and few studies on the formation of spherical nanoparticles have been reported up to now. Most researchers including me believed that PAA films were homogeneous. During the course of the investigation, my student found spherical nanoparticles were formed during preparation of the PAA films for PSPIs. Being interested in taking SEM, he took the SEM of a spin-cast film of PAAs. Thus, these findings prompted us to investigate the spherical particle formation of PAAs during the film preparation. This observation is very important for developing photosensitive polyimides, providing deeper insight for a development process using organic solvents or aqueous base solutions.

Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work?

Polymer Chemistry is an excellent journal which publishes high quality manuscripts in polymer science. Moreover, Dr. Liz Davis as the Managing Editor invited me to submit our article to this journal.

In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you?

I am going to attend the 7^th International Symposium on Hi-tec Polymer Materilas held at in Xi’an City, China during June 17-21, the 29^th International Conference Photopolymer Science and Technology held at Chiba, Japan during June 26-29, the 1^st International Symposium on Polymer Ecomaterials held at Changchun, China during August 19 – 23, and Polycondensation 2012 held at San Francisco, USA during September 16-19.

How do you spend your spare times?

I take a walk and listen to music.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

When I was young, I loved sailing and had enjoyed it until 45 years old. Thus if possible, I would be a professional sailing boat sailor.

Christophe Schatz is Assistant Professor at the ‘Institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux’ in the ‘Laboratoire de Chimie des Polymères Organiques (LCPO)’ led by Prof. H. Cramail (see author of the week, 23 March 2012). He received his PhD degree from the University of Lyon in 2003 for his work on polysaccharide colloids under the supervision of Prof. A. Domard and Pr. T. Delair. In 2004–2005, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the group of Dr. E. J. Wanless (University of Newcastle, Australia) working on polyelectrolyte micelles for functional interfaces. He is currently working in the group of Prof. S. Lecommandoux and his research focuses on colloidal assemblies from polysaccharides, polyelectrolytes and block copolymers for therapeutic applications.

Details of his research activities can be found at: http://www.lcpo.fr/

What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist?

The idea of working in a laboratory of chemistry to manipulate and study molecules has been a great motivation for a long time. Later, I realized how interactions can be used to direct molecular assembly and built materials.

What was the motivation behind the research in your recent Polymer Chemistry paper? (DOI:10.1039/C2PY20089A)  

The project is the result of a collaboration between the ‘Institut de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Bordeaux (ICMCB)’ where researchers are able to design magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) having a Curie temperature adjusted at 43°C for biomedical applications and the ‘Laboratoire de Chimie des Polymères Organiques (LCPO)’ which has a long experience in the synthesis and properties of block copolymers. The motivation was to engineer the surface of magnetic NPs with copolymers so that an anticancer agent can be encapsulated and released at will by applying an ac magnetic field. This may be beneficial for reducing side effects of chemotherapy. We chose to modify the particle surface though a non-covalent approach, namely by co-adsorbing block copolymers, because many properties of polymer brushes, like the transition temperature or the drug encapsulation capacity, can be easily modified through the composition of adsorbed copolymer chains. In view of designing a functional polymer platform at particle surface, such an approach offers almost unlimited possibilities.

Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work?

It looks like that Polymer Chemistry will become a major journal with a broad audience in polymer science.

In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you?

I will attend the 9th International Symposium on Polyelectrolytes – ISP 2012 (Lausanne, July 9-12) and then the Colloids and Nanomedicine conference in Amsterdam, July 15-17.

How do you spend your spare times?

Music, cooking and diving (since my post-doc in Australia). Reading newspapers with a cup of coffee takes me some time too!

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

Musician or maybe explorer in another life…

John (Jung Kwon) Oh is currently appointed as a Canada Research Chair (CRC) Tier II in Nanobioscience and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. With BSc and MSc from Hanyang University in Korea, he earned his PhD degree from the University of Toronto in the area of polymer chemistry and materials science under the supervision of Prof. Mitchell A. Winnik. He then completed his postdoctoral research at Carnegie Mellon University with Prof. Kris Matyjaszewski, learning atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). He has been employed at Korea Chemical Company in Korea and Dow Chemical Company in Michigan USA over 10 years.

The research in his laboratory at Concordia enables the design and processing of macromolecular nanoscale materials for biological and biomedical applications. The nanomaterials of interest consist of polymeric, organic, and inorganic materials as well as hybrids having unique structural, electronic, magnetic, and optical properties. They are prepared by well-defined synthetic organic methods, controlled polymer chemistry as well as by templating with supramolecular assemblies. In particular, his interests are the integration of nanostructured biomaterials with biomedicine to develop advanced bionanomaterials that can interface biological processes as well as to understand their biological functions. The current focus of his research is on the development of a variety of novel biomaterials for drug delivery, cellular imaging, and tissue engineering, including superparamagnetic nanogels, rapid thermoresponsive hydrogels, and self-assembled degradable block copolymer micelles

Currently, his group has seven graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. The students and postdoc in his laboratory who participate in the cutting-edge research program have the opportunity to gain a broad range of skills and knowledge in organic polymer chemistry, materials chemistry and science, and the domain of biology and biomedical engineering.

What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist?

My impression about synthetic chemistry is that a synthetic chemist is similar to a professional cook who can select appropriate and various ingredients to create new tastes. I have trained as polymer chemist and materials scientist in both industrial and academic settings. My strong desire is to integrate my synthetic skill sets with biology and biomedicine, developing new materials for biomedical research.

What was the motivation behind the research in your recent Polymer Chemistry paper? (DOI:10.1039/c2py20154b)

Toward the effective cancer-targeting drug delivery applications of amphiphilic block copolymers as multifunctional nanocarriers, the control of the release of encapsulated anticancer therapeutics is critical. My research group has focused on the new design of stimuli-responsive degradable self-assembled micelles, with different numbers and types of degradable linkages positioned at various locations. These micelles having topological variations should allow the determination of the structure-property relationship between morphological variance and stimuli-responsive degradation. Ultimately, the advanced knowledge can be leveraged into optimizing degradable micelles offering tunable release of encapsulated anticancer therapeutics inside cancer cells.

In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you?

I regularly attend the ACS meeting in USA and will attend the 95^th Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition in Calgary in Canada.

How do you spend your spare times?

I walk with my wife and love to play tennis.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

I loved and played baseball in my childhood. Because I was born in countryside in the city of Daejeon, Korea, I did not have an great opportunity to be a baseball player in my life. If I am given to a new life, I would be a professional baseball player.

Dr. Anna Carlmark received her PhD in polymer technology in 2004 from Fibre and Polymer Technology at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, under the supervision of Prof. Eva Malmström. Between 2004-2007 she was employed as a researcher in several industries in Sweden (GE Healthcare AB, Gyros AB and SweTree Technologies AB) before she rejoined the group of Prof. Malmström in 2007 as an assistant professor in the division of Coating Technology at KTH. Her research focus is within the fields of controlled radical polymerization, the synthesis of complex macromolecular architectures, functional surfaces and (bio)fibre modifications. (http://www.kth.se/en/che/divisions/coating-technology)

 What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist?

Initially, I was really interested in biology, but in high school I stumble onto biochemistry which I thought was really fascinating as it explained so much about biological systems and even our own bodies. When I started university to goal was really to become a biochemist. Of course, I had no really insight into this field, and at the university I found myself much more drawn towards organic and polymer chemistry, and I found biochemistry quite tedious and boring. So I became a polymer chemist, which I have no regrets about!

What was the motivation to write this review? (DOI: 10.1039/C1PY00445J)

We (Prof Eva Malmström and I) have been working in the field of grafting cellulose by controlled radical polymerization for quite some time, actually 10 years this year, and we thought it was a nice idea to put a review together in this field. We had been talking about if for a couple of years, and so when I was invited to write a review for Polymer Chemistry it was perfect timing. I was very happy and honoured to receive the invitation!

Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work?

Polymer Chemistry is a hot new journal that is really “up and coming”. The readers are well reflected in our research field and we thought it was the perfect choice for the review.

In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you?

Unfortunately, I have no current plans to attend any conferences as I am having a baby in September. Usually I try to attend the ACS fall meetings, and in this case the earliest I will go will be in fall 2013.

How do you spend your spare times?  

I have two small children (ages 3 and 2) and a third on the way, so I keep myself pretty busy with the kids. We also have a country house where I love to go in the summer time. The Swedish archipelago is one of the most beautiful places in the world and a favourite place of mine, and I can warmly recommend a visit!

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

I considered becoming a nurse or physical therapist for a long time. I am very impressed with people working in medicine as I think they are true heroes. So if I was not a scientist, I think that is something that I would like to do.