Abstract

Named after the two-faced roman god, Janus particles have gained much attention due to their potential in a variety of applications, including drug delivery. This is the first book devoted to Janus particles and covers their methods of synthesis, how these particles self-assemble, and their possible uses. By following the line of synthesis, self-assembly and applications, the book not only covers the fundamental and applied aspects, but it goes beyond a simple summary and offers a logistic way of selecting the proper synthetic route for Janus particles for certain applications. Written by pioneering experts in the field, the book introduces the Janus concept to those new to the topic and highlights the most recent research progress on the topic for those active in the field and catalyze new ideas.
Shan Jiang received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. from Zhejiang Univeristy and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He subsequently became a postdoctoral fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, working on drug delivery and biomedication. He won the 2008 Racheff-Intel Award for Outstanding Graduate Research. Steve Granick is currently Founder Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, as well as Professor of Chemistry, Physics, and Biophysics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. Honors include the 2009 Polymer Physics Prize, Paris-Sciences Medal, Chair of the APS Polymer Physics Division, member of the editorial board of numerous journals, and Guest Professor at Peking University, Zhejiang University, and the University of Science and Technology of China. He is member of the American Physical Society, American Chemical Society, and Biophysical Society. With more than 200 refereed publications to his name, he has long-standing research interests in tribology as well as in the dynamics of polymers, complex fluids, colloids, and phospholipid membranes.