The Battery of Analytical Techniques Necessary for the Effective Characterization of Solutions of Temperature-Sensitive Polymers

This review aims to highlight the most effective ways of studying temperature-sensitive polymer solutions, which exhibit phase separation phenomena caused by variations in temperature. As a result of phase separation, temperature-sensitive polymer systems can form well-defined self-assembled nanostructures with a number of different practical application such as in drug and gene delivery, tissue engineering, etc. In order to establish the required properties for applications, a rigorous characterization of the phase separation phenomenon is essential. This review describes the application of different spectroscopic and calorimetric methods, including NMR, DLS, SAXS, IR, Raman spectroscopy and DSC, for this purpose.