Characterization of Macromolecular Solutions by a Combined Static and Dynamic Light Scattering Technique

Abstract

The combination of quasi-elastic light scattering (LS) with integrated scattered intensity measurements in the same sample has been applied to study polymer and polymer–protein aqueous solutions. The molecular weight, the radius of gyration, and the second virial coefficient for thermosensitive polymer [poly(N-isopropylacrylamid)] solutions before and after precipitation transition have been obtained using Zimm plot calculations. The precipitation curve (intensity versus temperature dependence) for polymer solutions has been experimentally obtained using the light scattering setup. For the first time the static and dynamic LS properties of aqueous solutions of antibody–poly(methacrylic acid) and antibody–poly(acrylic acid) conjugates and solutions of their components [antibody, poly(methacrylic acid), and poly(acrylic acid)] at different pH values have been measured. In both cases the parallel comparison of the characteristic size variations allowed us to represent novel structural features of scattered particles (macromolecules, associates, aggregates, conjugates, colloidal particles) in studied systems.