Molecular Weight and Aggregation of Erwinia Gum in Aqueous Solutions

Erwinia(E) gum is composed of glucose, fucose, galactose and glucuronic acid. The weight-average molecular weights Mw, number-average molecular weights Mn and intrinsic viscositiesη] of the four fractions and the unfractionated E gum in aqueous solutions at desired temperatures were studied by light scattering, membrane osmometry, size exclusion chromatography(SEC) and viscometry. The experimental results prove that E gum formed aggregates in the aqueous solution at 25 ℃ and the aggregates were broken gradually with increasing temperature. The dissociation of the aggregates of E gum in the aqueous solution started at 36 ℃, and was completed at around 90 ℃. The η] values of E gum and its fractions are much higher than those of the conventional polymers with the similar molecular weights, and decrease with increasing NaCl concentration.