On the interchain associations in aqueous solutions of a succinoglycan polysaccharide

Formation of interchain associations between succinoglycan chains have been studied by comparing weight average molecular weight, intrinsic viscosity of succinoglycan as a function of the conditions to prepare the solutions ( polymer concentration, the heating temperature adopted compared with T-m). The different solutions obtained were characterized by their Newtonian visc osity, the storage and loss moduli and their sensitivity to the temperature . It was found that interchain associations, first stabilized mainly during the disorder-order transition convert to more stable associations by aging at temperatures below but not too far from T-m. These associations appear from succinoglycan solutions characterized by an overlap parameter higher t han about 8 and modify only very slightly the conformational transition par ameters obtained from microcalorimetry measurements. (C) 1999 Elsevier Scie nce B.V. All rights reserved.