Coil–globule transition

[2] It is also analogous with the swelling behavior of a crosslinked polymer gel and is thus of interest in biomedical engineering for controlled drug delivery.

A particularly prominent example of a polymer possessing a coil-globule transition of interest in this area is that of Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm).

[3] In its coil state, the radius of gyration of the macromolecule scales as its chain length to the three-fifths power.

The canonical coil–globule transition is associated with the Upper critical solution temperature and the associated Flory theta point.

In this case, collapse occurs with cooling and results from favorable attractive energy of the polymer to itself.