This book presents the latest ideas and research on molecular hydration and hydration forces, and how they determine the interaction between water molecules and biomaterials surfaces. Split into three sections — theoretical, analytical, and practical applications — Water in Biomaterials Surface Science begins by discussing the relationship between the molecules of life and the molecular structure of water and how the latter determines forces at the solid/aqueous interface.

The sections on analytical techniques and applications offer a complete overview of and new insights into the biomaterials/water interface. They discuss the latest approaches to the characterization of water at interfaces and surface modification of biomaterials; examine the problems related to the understanding and characterization of interfacial water; and provide new perspectives on the interfacial interactions between materials and the physiological aqueous environment.

From the Introduction: “Biomaterials surface science has obviously much to do with water at interfaces. And the behaviour of water at interfaces is the direct consequence of the molecular structure of water; a markedly anisotropic (polar) molecule, where the unbalance between electron poor and electron rich region is, first of all, an excellent way to communicate with other molecules. It gives rise to orientation-dependent properties; and to co-operativity, since the orientation of a given molecule affects the orientation of neighbors...[T]his book tries to develop a view of interfacial interactions involving biomaterial surfaces and aqueous biological fluids that takes into account the molecular aspects of water and of the aqueous environment...”

Target Audience: Researchers in biomaterials surface science, biomedical appliances and biotechnologists involved in the development of hydrophilic materials for biotechnological devices.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

Theoretical Aspects:

Biological Properties of Water

Theoretical and Computational Methods of Biomolecular Hydration

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Carbohydrate—Water Interactions

Statistical Thermodynamics of Fluids with Orientation-Dependent Properties and its Application to Water at Interfaces

Solvation Interactions for Protein Adsorption to Biomaterial Surfaces

Analytical Aspects:

On the Origins of Water Wetting Terminology

The Evaluation of Electron-Donor and Electron-Acceptor Properties and their Role in the Interaction of Solid Surfaces with Water

Vibrational Spectroscopy for Water at Interfaces

Atomic Force Microscope Analysis of Water-Mediated Interfacial Interactions

Practical Applications:

How Water Wets Biomaterial Surfaces

Super-Hydrophilic Surfaces for Biomedical Applications

Poly(ethylene oxide) Coated Surfaces

The Role of Water in the Surface Properties of Phospholipid Polymers

Hydrophilc Polysaccharides Coatings

Index