Physicochemical properties of chondroitin sulfate. II. Molecular weight dependence of intrinsic viscosity and sedimentation coefficient, and analysis as a semi-flexible coil.

Abstract

1. The relation between intrinsic viscosity in 0.2 M NaCl and molecular weight for samples of chondroitin sulfate isolated from shark cartilage could be expressed by [eeta] = 6.5 X 10(-6) Mr114. 2. Their sedimentation coefficients were linear with respect to the square root of molecular weight, and the intercept was not zero but definitely positive, indicating that chondroitin sulfate in solution can be represented by a semi-flexible coil with a molecular diameter of about 1.2 nm. This value was consistent with the results of X-ray analysis. 3. The molecular weight dependence of the sedimentation coefficient for chondroitin sulfate from ox nasal septa cartilage was similar to that for chondroitin sulfate isolated from shark cartilage.