ASSOCIATIVE POLYMERS IN AQUEOUS-SOLUTION

Water soluble polymers with pendant hydrophobic substituents associate in water to form extended structures. Solutions of the polymers have important applications in technologies ranging from paints and paper c oatings (as rheology modifiers) to DNA sequencing (where the network s tructure serves as a sieving medium). Recent experiments are beginning to reveal the nature of the structures formed and their response to s hear. Many facets of the behavior of these polymers are under active i nvestigation.