Effect of Salt Addition on the Fractal Structure of Aggregates Formed by Heating Dilute BSA Solutions

Abstract

  The fractal dimension, D_f, of aggregates in a dilute BSA system with added salt was evaluated by static light scattering (SLS). A fractal structure was observed for the system with NaCl addition. The values of D_f increased with increasing heating time and ionic strength. The values of D_f were larger than those (D_f=1.8 or 2.1) predicted by the conventional cluster-cluster aggregation model, probably due to a “restructuring” of aggregates during the aggregation process. On the other hand, a fractal structure was not apparent for the system with added CaCl₂.