Colloids show great potential in a wide variety of applications, including drug delivery and medical imaging, and the design and fabrication of colloid systems has attracted considerable interest in the research community. Colloids in Biotechnology describes developments in the field of biotechnological applications in the past decade and bridges the gap between these research efforts and commercially viable options.
Striking a balance between theory and experiment, between principles and applications, and between molecular and physical approaches to the subject, the book assembles contributions from an international community of colloid scientists to provide a comprehensive reference on the role of colloids in biotechnology and biomedicine. The authors discuss new types of biosurfactants; mixtures of surfactants; and peptides, proteins, and polyelectrolytes. They also describe the formation and properties of magnetic colloids and review their applications in chemical biology and medicine. They highlight current progress in the design of self-assembled materials for biotechnology, and they also cover the formation of nanofibres and the use of sol-gel technology in biology.
The chapter authors have been given the freedom to present the spectrum of the relevant science, from pure to applied, in their particular topic. The compilation of this vast experience makes this text a valuable reference for those working in research and development in a range of technologies as well as academic scientists in the colloid and surface science field.