ON THE SOLUTION PROPERTIES OF BACTERIAL POLYSACCHARIDES OF THE GELLAN FAMILY

The influence of side chains and substituents on the polyelectrolyte behaviour of aqueous solutions of polysaccharides of the gellan family has been studied. The results of conductimetric and potentiometric titrations suggest that each of these polysaccharides adopts a double-helix conformation. Deacetylation destabilises the helix of rhamsan and gellan, and optical rotation data confirm these results. The side chain in rhamsan is more flexible and is remote from the carboxylate groups, and the behavior of this polysaccharide is similar to that of gellan. Gelation of deacetylated rhamsan occurs in the presence of calcium ions. The intrinsic viscosity as a function of ionic strength depends on the structure of the polysaccharide and on the presence of acetyl groups.