Polymer Macro- and Micro-Gel Beads: Fundamentals and Applications

Beads made from Egyptian faience have been excavated from grave deposits (c. 40003100 BC), together with beads of glazed steatite (a soft rock) and of se- precious stones such as turquoise, carnelian, quartz, and lapis lazuli. Information on these and many more ancient beads used for ornaments and jewelry, ritual ceremonies, as art artifacts and gifts for amorous women throughout history, and descriptions of the raw materials (e. g. , glass, bone, precious and other stones) and manufacturing technologies used for their production can be located in many references. Many books are devoted to the description of beads that are not of water-soluble polymer origin, techniques for their production, their art, value, and distribution, re?ecting the wealth of information existing in this ?eld of science and art. On the other hand, there are no books fully devoted to the fascinating topic of hydrocolloid (polymeric) beads and their unique applications. A few books c- tain scattered chapters and details on such topics, while emphasizing the possibility of locating fragments of information elsewhere; however, again, there is no book that is solely devoted to hydrocolloid beads and their versatile applications. In the meantime, the use of water-soluble hydrocolloid beads is on the rise in many ?elds, making a book that covers both past and novel applications of such beads, as well as their properties and ways in which to manipulate them, crucial.

First book devoted to hydrocolloid (water-soluble polymer) beads, their properties and their applications Describes numerous methods of bead production Covers both the properties and the traditional and novel applications of polymeric beads Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Klappentext
Although the use of water-soluble polymer beads is on the rise in many fields, the literature offers only scattered chapters in a handful of books on the topic. Polymer Macro- and Micro-Gel Beads: Fundamentals and Applications fills this void. It covers both the properties and traditional and novel applications of polymeric beads, making it a crucial addition to the literature. This book describes numerous methods of bead production, as well as the techniques used to modify them and to estimate their physical and chemical properties. A full description of past and present developments and applications of beads in the fields of agriculture, biotechnology, environmental studies, medicine, pharmacology, and food are presented. Amos Nussinovitch is a Professor of Food Science and Technology at The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is an internationally recognized expert on hydrocolloid applications and works in the areas of structure and texture of wet and dry beads, liquid-core capsules, different polymeric beads for water denitrification and beads as part of novel cellular solids, among many other applications.

Inhalt
Physical Properties of Beads and Their Estimation.- Bead Formation, Strengthening, and Modification.- Methods and Mathematical Models for the Drying of Polymeric Beads.- Food and Biotechnological Applications for Polymeric Beads and Carriers.- Medicinal Applications of Hydrocolloid Beads.- Dry Bead Formation, Structure, Properties, and Applications.- Liquid-Core Beads and Their Applications in Food, Biotechnology, and Other Fields.- Beads as Drug Carriers.- Beads and Special Applications of Polymers for Agricultural Uses.- Beads for Environmental Applications.