Abstract
Emiliania huxleyi is a marine alga which produces coccoliths, elaborate calcified structures consisting of CaCO 3 and a water-soluble acidic polysaccharide. The polysaccharide was subjected to light scattering measurements to determine the weight-average molar mass ( M w ) and osmometry to assess the number-average molar mass ( M n ). Values of M w of 88,600 ± 3200 g/mol and of M n of 49,100 ± 1500 g/mol were found. These experiments were performed with a polysaccharide mainly in the Na + form. Replacement of Na + by Ca 2+ did not significantly affect the weight-average molar mass or the second virial coefficient. The values of the refractive index increment of these salts were different [(d n/d c)Na + = 0.145 ± 0.004 ml/g; (d n/d c) Ca 2+ = 0.090 ± 0.002 ml/g], indicating a possible conformational change in the molecule.
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