Studies on Mechanical Denaturation of High Polymer Solutions

VIII. Mechanical Denaturation of Poly-L-Glutamic Acid in Dioxane and NaCl Aqueous Solutions

Abstract

The mechanical denaturation of poly-L-glutamic acid (PGA) in 0.2M NaCl aqueous solutions and in 0.2M NaCl-dioxane (2: 1, by volume) aqueous solutions by shearing force was studied. The coagulation phenomena of PGA in the above-mentioned solutions caused by the shearing force were different from those in the aqueous solutions reported before.
The viscosity and optical rotatory dispersion were measured to clarify the conformation change of PGA in these mixed solvents.
The process of the mechanical denaturation of PGA in these solutions can be assumed that the α-helical conformation with helix content 70% or more changes itself into the β-structure by means of the shearing force.