Chemistry Online

what are the practical applications of polymer in chemistry/physics?

Public Comments

1. Many and varied. You just need to look around you. They are in cars, materials, containers, computers, cookware etc. There are many different polymers and they all have different uses.
2. Recently biopolymers are being investigated for the treatment of cancer. Essentially, scientists hope that biopolymers will selectively kill cancer cells (as opposed to traditional cancer treatment therapies which are generally very indiscriminant). Also polymers have a wide variety of applications in paint, plastics, and much more.
3. Polymers are components in plastics, synthetic fibers,gel bases for pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, and many other chemical/ industrial applications. Proteins and nucleic acids (DNA, RNA), and complex carbohydrates, are all biochemically important polymers. Polymer physics in terms of practical applications is still in its infancy, but much research is being done in the area of sealing microchips with polymers.