ABSTRACT
The presence of a small-molecule cosolute with the polymer in solution can lead to a variety of effects involving diverse types of interactions between the two components and the solvent. The study of the binding of small-molecule cosolutes by synthetic polymers has to a large extent been overshadowed by the more extensively cultivated area of cosolute binding by biopolymers, most especially that by proteins, but also that by nucleic acids and by polysaccharides. The reviews by Hughes and Klotz on protein/metal ion interactions, and by Rosenberg and Klotz on protein/dye interactions, are still useful in the present context since, e.g., the experimental techniques outlined are in most cases largely applicable (with some modifications) to synthetic polymer systems. Snce synthetic polymers are used in cross-linked form in, e.g., soft contact lenses, and in this form can show binding of the small-molecule components present in cleaning and preservative solutions used for these lenses.
