The issue is dedicated to Professor Dr. h. c. Milan Schwuger on the occasion of his 60th birthday. Most of the papers included in this volume are related to the central theme: the interaction of surface active agents with solid materials. It comprises an impressing overview of the actual research in colloid science and reveals expected trends of this strongly developing field at the turn of the millennium.

This volume of Progress in Colloid and Polymer Science assembles original contributions and invited reviews from the priority research program "Intelligent Hydrogels", funded by the German Science Foundation DFG since 2006, with about 25 contributing research groups.