A review of electrophoretic separations in temperature-responsive Pluronic thermal gels

Demonstrating the Temperature Dependence of Scientific Phenomena for Middle Schoolers

“…Warmer temperatures cause unimers to aggregate into micelles, which then assemble into a high-viscosity, solid-phase lattice (right). Figure adapted from ref . PEO: poly­(ethylene oxide); PPO: poly­(propylene oxide).…”

“…Each Pluronic unimer has a hydrophobic poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) subunit flanked by two hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) subunits (Figure 2). 7 This triblock structure gives rise to interesting properties in aqueous solutions. At lower temperatures (e.g., <15 °C), water molecules can hydrate the hydrophobic subunits, which results in a mixture of soluble unimers and micelles (Figure 2, blue).…”

Ionic Strength Effect in the Equilibrium and Rheological Behavior of an Amphiphilic Triblock Copolymer at the Air/Solution Interface

“…These modifications, intricately linked to the Hofmeister series but also to the specific ratio between the number of monomers in the poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(propylene oxide) blocks, establish a relationship between the behavior of ions as promoters or disruptors of water's structural stability, depending on their ability to remain hydrated [22,24,25]. Such intricate correlations between ionic properties and phase changes within Pluronic solutions continue to foster further investigations to unravel the underlying mechanisms governing these complex systems [23,24,26]. This has revealed that some ions can interact with the polymer chains in a very specific way, leading to behavior that cannot be explained by the Hofmeister series [27,28].…”