MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF KAPPA-CARRAGEENAN AND LAMBDA-CARRAGEENAN BY GEL-PERMEATION CHROMATOGRAPHY, LIGHT-SCATTERING, SEDIMENTATION ANALYSIS AND OSMOMETRY

Gel permeation chromatography, in conjunction with a double detection system involving a low angle laser light scattering apparatus (LALLS) and a refractive index monitoring device (RI), has been used to obtain both the molecular weight and the molecular weight distribution of sodium salts of kappa-carrageenan and lambda-carrageenan in saline solutions. The results, M(w) and M(n), are in excellent agreement with independent determinations of molar mass based on static light scattering experiments, sedimentation-diffusion analysis and osmometry. The relevance of the data is discussed with respect to current problems in carrageenan research.