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The effect of gel structure on matrix orientation
Author(s) -
Stellwagen John,
Stellwagen Nancy C.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
electrophoresis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.666
H-Index - 158
eISSN - 1522-2683
pISSN - 0173-0835
DOI - 10.1002/elps.11501301120
Subject(s) - agarose , birefringence , polyacrylamide , electric field , matrix (chemical analysis) , materials science , orientation (vector space) , chemistry , chromatography , optics , polymer chemistry , physics , geometry , mathematics , quantum mechanics
Four polymeric gels of different structure, low electroendosmosis (LE) agarose, highest electroendosmosis (HEEO) agarose, β‐carrageenan, and polyacrylamide, were studied by transient electric birefringence to determine the importance of various structural features on the orientation of the gels in an electric field. The two types of agarose, but not the polyacrylamide or β‐carrageenan, exhibited anomalous orientation effects. Both agarose and β‐carrageenan exhibited large birefringence signals, suggesting that the noncovalent hydrogen bonds joining the agarose fibers within the matrix allow the high degree of orientation of the gel. The spatial arrangement of the sugars of the agarose backbone is necessary for the anomalous orientation effects in reversing electric fields.