This book summarizes the state ofthe art research presented at the Fourth International Conference on Frontiers of Polymersand Advanced Materialsheld in Cairo, Egypt in January 4-9, 1997. This conference follows the successful conferences held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1995, in Jakarta, Indonesia in 1993 andin New Delhi, India in 1991. These conferences focussed on the most recent and important advances in a wide range of carefully chosen subject areas dealing with advanced materials, their science and technology and new business opportunities resulting from recent technological advances. As its predecessors, the conference held in Cairo was truly international with strong participation of 488 deiegales representing 37 countries from the USA and Egypt, as weil as Europe, South East Asia, Japan, South Africa and the Middle East. The conference was organized by the Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, The Arab Society ofMaterials Science and the State University ofNew Y ork at Butfalo. The stated goals ofthe conference were: • To highlight advances and new. findings in the general area of polymers and advanced materials. - • T o foster global collaboration between the USA, Egypt and other nations in the general field of polymers and advanced materials. • To promote the development of scientific ilifrastructure in this field among the different participating countries, especially in the Middle East. • To create a basisforfuture long-term scientific exchanges between the USA and Egypt, and/or other countries.

Advances in Plasma Treatment of Textile Surfaces offers a detailed overview on the use of plasma in natural and synthetic textiles, and also explores recent applications in technical textiles including composites, ballistic performance, functionalization and textile wastewater treatment.This promising technology can alter the surface properties of textiles without having a significant effect on their bulk properties, leading to potential improvements to the scouring, de-sizing, dyeing, finishing, printing, and laminating processes among others.Drawing on an international team of contributors from industry as well as academia, this important book is bringing these innovative sustainable plasma treatments to textile and polymer scientists everywhere working in the field of textile functionalization. - Provides detailed technical descriptions of cutting-edge applications of plasma in nanotechnology, biotechnology, and other fields - Describes the different kinds of plasma treatment equipment and compares their use for different effects - Starts with overviews of basic information such as how to determine surface properties

Covers cutting edge areas of fiber design and function in an introductory format Addresses a wide range of applications and modifications of natural and synthetic fibers for various applications Focuses on medical applications, but not exclusively Military and homeland security related applications Wound dressing design and future improvements are also covered Contains several different subjects such as magnetic fibers and electrospun fibers

Handbook of Biomaterials Biocompatibility is a systematic reference on host response to different biomaterials, taking into account their physical, mechanical and chemical properties. The book reviews recent progress in the design and study of biomaterials biocompatibility, along with current understanding on how to control immune system response. Sections provide the fundamental theories and challenges of biomaterials biocompatibility, the role of different biomaterials physicochemical surface properties on cell responses, cell responses to different physicochemical properties of polymers, ceramics, metals, carbons and nanomaterials, and biomaterials in different tissues, such as the cardiac, nervous system, cartilage and bone. This resource will be suitable for those working in the fields of materials science, regenerative engineering, medicine, medical devices and nanotechnology. - Reviews the fundamental theories and challenges of biomaterials biocompatibility, including an overview of the standards and regulations - Provides an overview on the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in host responses to biomaterials - Systematically looks at cellular response and tissue response to a wide range of biomaterials, including polymers, metals, ceramics, alloys and nanomaterials