Polyelectrolytes are polymers whose repeating units bear an electrolyte group Polycations and polyanions are polyelectrolytes These groups dissociate in aqueous solutions water making the polymers charged Polyelectrolyte properties are thus similar to both electrolytes salts and polymers high molecular weight compounds and are sometimes called polysalts Like salts their solutions are electrically conductive Like polymers their solutions are often viscous Charged molecular chains commonly present in soft matter systems play a fundamental role in determining structure stability and the interactions of various molecular assemblies Theoretical approaches to describing their statistical properties differ profoundly from those of their electrically neutral counterparts while technological and industrial fields exploit their unique properties Many biological molecules are polyelectrolytes For instance polypeptides glycosaminoglycans and DNA are polyelectrolytes Both natural and synthetic polyelectrolytes are used in a variety of industries
