The Polymer Networks Group Conference (PNG 2024) jointly organized by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland will provide an interdisciplinary forum for biophysicists, polymer physicists, chemists, bioengineers and biologists to exchange ideas and assess the latest developments in the field of polymer networks and gels. The conference will explore novel experimental and theoretical approaches to describe biological phenomena that are based on sound physical concepts and quantitative measurement methods that allow predictive, model-driven research from bench to bedside.

Focus Topics

The scientific program of the conference will be centered around the following focus topics:

• Novel trends in the design and development of gels and soft matter
• Hydrogels in biomedical applications (controlled drug delivery systems, excipients, scaffolds for tissue regeneration, biosensing and diagnostic applications, etc.)
• Responsive polymers and ‘smart’ gels (phase transitions in synthetic and biopolymer systems)
• Kinetics of molecular self-assembly processes and dynamic properties of gels
• Physical cross-linking and gel formation in polymer materials with multivalent ion interactions (biopolymers, polyelectrolytes, block copolymers, amphiphiles, etc.)
• Computational and theoretical modeling of gel formation, swelling, deswelling, and elastic properties of cross-linked networks and gels
• 3-D printing of gel and biogel constructs
• Agricultural and food science applications of gels
• Polymer gels used in quantitative imaging phantom development