Dear Colleagues,

The application of various NMR techniques to the study of important polymers and biological polymers has led to a more complete understanding of the mechanisms of interaction of macromolecules and biomacromolecules with other molecules and liquids.  Various 1D and 2D NMR relaxation and PFG NMR approaches have proven themselves as prospective application techniques for the study of liquid motion in synthetic and natural materials. When NMR methods are applied, information about organized structures and their stability could be discovered, especially in relation to external and environmental factors. In this way, many changes in the rearrangement of macromolecular conformations in the fabrication of biopolymers and copolymers can be clarified.

Many technologically important polymeric materials are presented as solids. Among the analytical techniques that are sensitive to the local environment, ssNMR-based approaches are applied to probe chemical structure, geometric structure, and molecular dynamics in solid materials. The information is derived from the NMR parameters measured during experiments on polymers or complex solids. Multinuclear NMR can be used to address questions about complex materials. The combination of ssNMR measurements with calculational approaches results in detailed information about structure and functional effectiveness of materials. The study of porous polymers, and the interaction of polymer materials with liquids within specific NMR approaches, provides a means of clarifying the questions of identity and activity.

Polymers are frequently used as barrier coatings in the technology of many materials to prevent the degradation of porous substrates. Mostly, polymer barrier coatings regulate the transport of water. The issue of water–polymer interaction has been studied by NMR at many technological stages of material production.  The penetration of water into polymer films and molecular diffusion inside is receiving increasing attention in material research on both wetting and drying processes with the aid of NMR approaches. NMR techniques present the possibility of identifying different environments in the swollen polymers. The roles of polymer matrix, surface water, and bound water inside the porous materials could be determined.

This Special Issue of Polymers seeks works on NMR technique investigations in polymeric materials for the various stages of material creation and application, providing an in-depth exploration of the steps required in the development of new processes of polymer production. The topics of the Special Issue include, but are not limited to, polymeric materials, biopolymers, films, hydrogels used for technological and biological destination, in materials based on copolymers and long-action preparations. The main techniques are NMR-based, but papers considering other experimental approaches in combination with NMR are welcome too. The aim of this issue is to effectively demonstrate the current state of the studies in NMR applications to the various polymer and biopolymer materials.

Dr. Victor V. Rodin
Dr. Henk Huinink
Dr. Leonid Grunin
Guest Editors

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• solid-state NMR
• NMR relaxation
• NMR spectroscopy
• PFG NMR
• LF-NMR
• MQF NMR
• water–polymer interactions
• 1D and 2D NMR
• polymer materials
• structure and properties
• biopolymers
• films
• polymer complexes and copolymers
• natural polymers
• simulations
• adsorption
• surface phenomena