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) from Mytilis edulis, to germanium substrata conditioned with bovine serum albumin (BSA) and polylysine, and to germanium substrata coated with aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) was investigated using attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. Binding of alginate to MAP appears to be proportional to surface coverage for levels tested. Distinct spectral features appear in the region associated with pyranose ring vibrations upon binding of alginate to MAP, polylysine, and APS, indicating that lysine residues play a prominent role in promoting irreversible adsorption with perturbation of pyranose ring atoms. BSA does not appear to enhance alginate adsorption over that observed on clean germanium and no new spectral features appear as a result of binding. The level of irreversible binding of alginate to germanium and polystyrene substrata conditioned with MAP is similar. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.