The Interaction Between Amphiphilic Polymer Materials and Guest Molecules: Selective Adsorption and Its Related Applications

The interaction between amphiphilic polymer materials and molecules such as drugs, proteins, and DNA plays one of the key roles for the applications in separation, delivery of drugs, biosensors, and tissue engineering. Thus, the fundamental investigation of this interaction is necessary before some polymer materials can be designed for practical applications. Here, various factors are discussed to determine the interactions between amphiphilic polymer materials and guest molecules. Based on this fundamental understanding, a series of amphiphilic polymer materials with selective adsorption to guest molecules has been developed and widely used for applications in smart separation, temporally controlled release, and patterning of guest molecules, such as dyes, drugs, and proteins.