NMR self-diffusion studies of polymeric surfactants

The ability to visualise and quantify the mobility of particular components in multi-component solutions has had a profound impact on colloid science because the mobility of the species under investigation is determined not only by its chemical structure and size, but also by the physical environment in which it is located. These considerations are of course central to medical imaging (MRI) [1] and the MRI community has greatly benefited from the ‘colloidal pioneers’. Thus, measurement and analysis of self-diffusion coefficients using the pulsed-gradient spin-echo nuclear magnetic resonance technique (PGSE-NMR, sometimes referred to as PFG-NMR) permits a non-perturbing in-situ probing of complex structure. This is especially true for colloid science since the characteristic structural dimensions are comparable to the displacements on the NMR timescale.