Abstract
Chemical modifications have been devised to give natural macro-molecules more desirable properties, and the application of synthetic macromolecules forms an important area of such chemical modification. The literature abounds with the examples of successful formation of copolymers from natural and synthetic macromolecules. The molecular architecture of the natural substrate is not affected by the presence of polymer, but the nature of the polymer formed in the environment of a natural substrate may be quite different from the homopolymer formed under similar polymerization conditions.