IONIC POLYSACCHARIDES .2. COMPARISON OF POLYELECTROLYTE BEHAVIOR OF HYALURONATE WITH THAT OF CARBOXYMETHYL CELLULOSE

Sodium hyaluronate (NaHy) and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (NaCMC) behave similarly with respect to concentration.N 3 of an added 1 : 1 electrolyte. The second virial coefficient A2 (light scattering) is identical within experimental error at a given.N 3. The limiting viscosity number [η] also varies with N3−1/2in similar fashion for samples of similar [η] of the two polymers. Differences in Na+ activity in salt‐free solutions are interpreted on the basis of weaker Na+ binding in NaHy, presumably due to the greater charge separation along its chain backbone. Added electrolyte is excluded in dialysis more strongly by NaHy (or its acid form) than by NaCMC. The Flory parameter Φ is smaller in good solvents for NaHy, as for many other polyelectrolytes, than for nonionic polymers. Copyright © 1968 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.