help button home button Biophys. J.
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS

Biophysical Journal 72: 388-394 (1997)
© 1997 the Biophysical Society

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bulone, D
Right arrow Articles by San Biagio, P L
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Bulone, D
Right arrow Articles by San Biagio, P L

Mesoscopic gels at low agarose concentration: perturbation effects of ethanol.

D Bulone, J Newman and P L San Biagio

CNR Institute for Interdisciplinary Applications of Physics, Palermo, Italy.

ABSTRACT

Aqueous agarose solutions at low concentrations (0.5 g/liter) were temperature quenched below the spinodal line to form mutually disconnected mesoscopic gels. In the presence of 6% ethanol, these solutions, obtained by quenching at the same temperature depth as in pure water, appear much more fluid, as determined by probe diffusion experiments. We show by static and dynamic light scattering that this can be explained by the solvent-mediated effects of ethanol, leading to a globular shape of mesoscopic agarose gels, rather than to an extended rodlike structure observed in pure water. Our findings show the significant effects of solvent perturbations on particle condensation and, therefore, may be useful in understanding the role of the solvent in the folding of biomolecules.






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 1997 by the Biophysical Society.