Cellulose pulp fibers are multilamellar and contain pores which range in size from 4 to 300Å. Futhermore, polyelectrolytes can develop charges within the macromolecules when subjected to pH changes in their environments.
It follows that if cellulose fibers, impregnated with a solution of polyelectrolyte, such as polyethyleneimine (PEI) at a given pH value, are washed at a lower pH, a sudden increase in the dimensions of the PEI macromolecules will occur as the pH of their environment decreases. As a result of this expansion, some of the macromolecules within the fibers will become greater in size than their containing pore.
They will be “irreversibly” stuck within these pores like a compressed “jack-in-the-box” until they are released by a suitable change in the environmental pH controlling their molecular size.
If the polymers have colors, the fibers can be spontaneously dyed as the polymers are adsorbed. Therefore, a protein was converted to the dye polymer by treating with a reactive dye. Thus, α-cellulose pulp fibers, impregnated with an aqueous solution of dye polymer gave maximum adsorption of the polymer at its isoelectric point because the protein macromolecule was in its smallest form at this pH. Conversly washed with water which has been adjusted to different pH values, maximum dye polymer elution was secured at the isoelectric point.
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