高分子材料の設計では，分子構造，組成，合成・成膜性，環境適合性，さらに製造プロセスが複雑に結合する。本稿では，筆者がこれまで取り組んできた高分子材料・プロセスインフォマティクスを，低誘電率エポキシ樹脂，CO2 分離膜，および光学フィルム製造プロセスを例として概観する。組成を考慮した分子記述子，公的データベースの選択的利用，溶解性・重合性・生分解性を含む多目的スクリーニング，製造データに基づくソフトセンサーを取り上げる。また，目的物性から分子・材料・プロセス条件を直接推定する直接的逆解析を，分子設計，材料設計，およびプロセス設計の基盤技術として述べる。

Adhesion between rubber and brass-plated steel cords is essential for the durability and reliability of automobile tires. The interface is formed through chemical reactions between sulfur-containing rubber and brass, and copper sulfide species generated at the buried interface play a key role in adhesion and aging behavior. In particular, Cu2S and related non-stoichiometric copper sulfides are associated with favorable adhesion, whereas further chemical changes under thermal and humid conditions can lead to interfacial degradation. However, practical rubber–metal adhesion interfaces are highly heterogeneous and embedded inside opaque rubber composites, making their three-dimensional chemical evolution difficult to observe directly. This article introduces an advanced approach using X-ray absorption fine structure computed tomography（XAFS-CT） combined with machine-learning analysis. XAFS-CT integrates the chemical-state sensitivity of XAFS with the three-dimensional imaging capability of CT, enabling non-destructive visualization of metallic Cu in brass, Cu2S, and CuS in the rubber matrix. A rubber–brass model composite containing numerous dispersed brass particles was designed to provide many spatially isolated adhesion interfaces within a single field of view. This sample design allowed high-throughput analysis of local interfacial reactions while satisfying the X-ray absorption requirements for XAFS-CT. Repeated measurements of the same sample during humid thermal aging further enabled the chemical evolution of individual brass particles to be tracked over aging time. The results showed that metallic Cu was consumed and Cu2S was mainly formed during the early stage of aging. With further aging, CuS formation and Cu2S consumption became more pronounced. Importantly, these reactions did not proceed uniformly; each brass particle exhibited a distinct reaction history depending on its local environment. Machine-learning analysis classified these temporal changes into characteristic reaction types and clarified the statistical distribution of aging pathways. This approach provides a new framework for understanding adhesion aging as a statistical ensemble of heterogeneous local reactions rather than as a single averaged process.

Since Buonocore’s pioneering acid-etch technique in 1955, adhesive dentistry has advanced remarkably. However, the oral environment remains a challenging milieu for durable adhesion. Water, ubiquitous in the oral cavity, plays multifaceted and often contradictory roles in dental adhesion. This commentary reviews the context-dependent roles of water in adhesion to both tooth structures and prosthetic restorations. For enamel, water serves as a transient cleaning agent during phosphoric acid etching and rinsing. In dentin bonding, water is indispensable for maintaining the expanded collagen network in etch-and-rinse systems （wet bonding technique）, yet becomes detrimental when it interferes with hydrophobic monomer polymerization in universal adhesives. Insufficient water removal leads to phase separation, incomplete polymerization, and increased nanoleakage, ultimately compromising bond durability. Moreover, water-driven degradation through matrix metalloproteinase activation and hydrolytic breakdown of the resin–dentin interface represents a chronic threat to long-term adhesion. For prosthetic restorations, water consistently acts as an adversary. Hydrolytic degradation of the MDP– zirconia bond, breakdown of silane coupling agents at lithium disilicate surfaces, saliva contamination of prosthetic restorations, and corrosion at metal–adhesive interfaces all underscore water’s detrimental effects. A thorough understanding of water’s roles-from indispensable ally to chronic enemy-is essential for optimizing clinical adhesive protocols and improving restoration longevity.