INVESTIGATION OF ALGINATE BINDING TO GERMANIUM AND POLYSTYRENE SUBSTRATA CONDITIONED WITH MUSSEL ADHESIVE PROTEIN

Binding of alginate from Macrocystis pyrifera (kelp) to germanium and polystyrene substrata conditioned with mussel adhesive protein (MAP) f rom Mytilis edulis, to germanium substrata conditioned with bovine ser um albumin (BSA) and polylysine, and to germanium substrata coated wit h aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) was investigated using attenuated t otal reflection Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. Binding of al ginate to MAP appears to be proportional to surface coverage for level s tested. Distinct spectral features appear in the region associated w ith pyranose ring vibrations upon binding of alginate to MAP, polylysi ne, and APS, indicating that lysine residues play a prominent role in promoting irreversible adsorption with perturbation of pyranose ring a toms. BSA does not appear to enhance alginate adsorption over that obs erved on clean germanium and no new spectral features appear as a resu lt of binding. The level of irreversible binding of alginate to german ium and polystyrene substrata conditioned with MAP is similar. (C) 199 5 Academic Press, Inc.