Cyclic Polymers

Cyclic Polymers (Second Edition) reviews the many recent advances in this rapidly expanding subject since the publication of the first edition in 1986. The preparation, characterisation, properties and applications of a wide range of organic and inorganic cyclic oligomers and polymers are described in detail, together with many examples of catenanes and rotaxanes. The importance of large cyclics in biological chemistry and molecular biology is emphasised by a wide coverage of circular DNA, cyclic peptides and cyclic oligosaccharides and polysaccharides. Experimental techniques and theoretical aspects of cyclic polymers are included, as well as examples of their uses such as ring opening polymerisation reactions to give commercially important materials. This book covers a wide range of topics which should be of interest to many scientific research workers (for example, in polymer science, chemistry and molecular biology), as well as providing a reference text for undergraduate and graduate students.

Introduction: Cyclic Polymers - The First 40 Years. - Circular DNA. - Cyclic Peptides. - Cyclic Oligosaccharides and Polysaccharides. - Cyclic Polysiloxanes. - Cyclic Oligomers of Polycarbonates and Polyesters. - Large Crown Ethers, Cyclic Polyethers and Cyclic Block Copolyethers. - Large Cyclic Esters and Ether-Esters. - Cyclomer Technology for High Performance Polymers. - Organic Cyclic Polymers. - Neutron Scattering and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Investigations of Cyclic Polymers. - Rotaxanes. - Oligomeric and Polymeric Catenanes. - Cyclic Inorganic Oligomers and Polymers. - Cyclisation and the Formation, Structure and Properties of Polymer Networks. - Theoretical Aspects of Cyclic Polymers: Effects of Excluded Volume Interactions.