Conference Call

ICCT-2010 provided an open, collaborative environ- Supramolecular Systems” ment for researchers from a wide range of fields of sci-  Gaetano Guerra, Universita di Salerno, Italy ence and . ICCT-2012 will be held in August “ Co-crystalline Phase” 2012 in Búzios, Brazil.  Akira Harada, Osaka University, Japan “From Supramolecular to Polymer ” Kazuya Saito , a professor at the University of  Wim E. Hennink, Utrecht University, The Tsukuba, Japan, was executive secretary of the conference. Mary Anne White, a Netherlands “Self-Assembling for professor at Dalhousie University, Canada, was a member of the international advi- Proteins Release” sory board, a presenter of a public lecture, and co-chair of a workshop at ICCT-2010.  Erdogan Kiran, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, USA “Polymorphic Transformations and Morphological Modifications of in Polymer-Solvent Complexes Dense Fluids”  Jean-François Luz, Fraunhofer Institute, and Intercalates Potsdam, Germany “Design of Synthetic by Jean-Michel Guenet Hydrogels with a Sol-Gel or a Gel-Sol Thermoreversible Transition in Aqueous The 8th International Conference on Polymer-Solvent Medium” Complexes and Intercalates, held in ,  Yasushi Maeda, Fukui University, Japan , from 5 to 8 July 2010, was the first of the series “Hydration of Temperature-Responsive to be granted IUPAC sponsorship. Polymers Observed by IR Spectroscopy” The topic of this series of international confer-  Ulrich Maschke, Université de Lille, France ences was originally centered on polymer systems “Dispersions of Liquid Crystals in Polymers: that are obtained through the co-crystallization, or in Investigation of Thermo-Physical, Morph- a broader sense through the co-organization, of poly- ological, and Electro-Optical Properties” mer chains or macromolecules with solvent .  Philippe Mesini, Institut Charles Sadron, France These systems, which are also designated as poly- “Self-Assembled Nanotubes: Structural Studies mer-solvent molecular compounds, crystallosolvates, and Use as Templates for Porous Materials” intercalates, form typically through molecular recogni-  Aline Miller, Manchester University, UK tion (intercalates) and/or through specific molecular “Designing Functional Exploiting interactions (complexes). It, however, turned out that Self-Assembly” more and more other systems, such as supramolecu-  Jean-Luc Putaux, CERMAV, France “Helical lar polymers (self-assembled systems) and proteins Conformation in Crystalline Complexes of complexes, were discussed, as the scientists involved V-Amylose” in their study clearly shared common concerns, and in  Francesco di Renzo, Inst. Charles Gerhardt, many cases similar scientific approaches. To acknowl- Montpellier, France, “Physisorption Methods for edge the broader range of systems presented and the Characterization of ” to convey the general idea of specific interactions of  Jiri Spevacek, Inst. Macromolecular Chemistry, large molecules with smaller ones, a new name was Prague, Czech Republic, “Stimuli-Responsive coined: POLYSOLVAT. Polymers in Solution Investigated by NMR Participants at POLYSOLVAT-8 numbered 92 peo- Methods” ple from 5 continents. They were welcomed by C. Marquès, deputy director of Institut Charles Sadron, a The conference proceedings will be published in CNRS laboratory where the conference was held, and Macromolecular Symposia. The conference received J.M. Guenet, chairman of the conference and chairman financial support from CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, of the scientific committee of POLYSOLVAT. Alsace regional government, and the French Polymer The program included 14 invited talks: Group. The next conference, POLSOLVAT-9, will be  Christophe Daniel, Universita di Salerno, Italy, held in Crimea at the seashore resort of Gurzuf. “Nanoporous Polymeric Crystalline Materials for Environmental and Energy Applications” Jean-Michel Guenet is director of research at the Institut  Nicolas Giuseppone, Université de Strasbourg, Charles Sadron in Strasbourg, France. He was chair of the Local Organizing and France “Responsive Multicomponent Program Committees for POLYSOLVAT-8.

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