This book contains a number of articles inspired by the NATO Advanced Study Institute on 'Charged and Reactive Polymers l' held in France in June 1972. This general title indicates simply the intention of a series. The meeting dealt mainly with the fundamental problems of the physical chemistry of polyelectrolytes in solution. Some of the articles reproduce the lectures exactly as they were delivered. Some others have been modified to a greater or lesser extent, and this as a result of improvements or new inspiration arising from comments and discussions. In previous larger conferences on...

The first four volumes of the series on 'Charged and Reactive Polymers' have been devoted to polymers in solution (Voh. I and II) or in gel and membrane forms (Vols. III and IV). In correlation with charges, other physical or chemical properties of macro molecules have been considered. Understanding of charge and hydrophobic effects is equally important for synthetic and biopolymers or their systems. Optically Active Polymers are related to problems of the same class, since optical activity is an inherent property of both natural macromolecules as well as a great variety of polymers...