DNA Separation by Microchip Electrophoresis Using Copolymers of Poly(vinylpyrrolidone) and Hydroxyethylcellulose

Copolymers of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) and hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) were synthesized, with PVP to HEC molar ratios of 3:1, 2:1 and 1:1. The copolymers were tested as separation media in DNA fragment separation analysis by microchip electrophoresis (MCE). Separation efficiency over 3.8×10⁵ for 118 bp has been reached by using the bare channels without the additional polymer coating step. Under optimized separation conditions for longer read length DNA sequencing, the separation ability of the copolymers decreased with decreasing (PVP‐co‐HEC) molar ratio from 3:1 to 2:1 and 1:1. In comparison with (PVP‐co‐HEC) 1:1, the copolymer with (PVP‐co‐HEC) 3:1 ratio showed high separation efficiency. By using a 20 g·L^?1 copolymer with (PVP‐co‐HEC) 3:1 ratio, ΦΧ174‐HaeIII digest DNA marker was successfully separated within 3 min.     

聚烯丙基氯化铵模板对AM/AA共聚物结构的影响

采用IR,1H-NMR和13C-NMR研究了聚烯丙基氯化铵(PAAC)模板对丙烯酰胺(AM)/丙烯酸(AA)共聚产物结构的影响,发现这种模板对共聚物P(AM/AA)序列结构和分子量有重要影响.由于共聚合体系中AA单体在PAAC模板聚合物上预组装,使得模板体系共聚物比无模板体系共聚物的AA和AM序列长度显著增加.这种类似多嵌段结构得到pKa′测定的进一步验证.另外模板分子量大小,模板和AA单体摩尔比,AM和AA摩尔比对共聚物结构的影响也进行了研究.应当指出这种模板聚合产物分离模板后仍有少量不能分离掉的PAAC聚合物存在.     

Poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide)-grafted polyacrylamide: a self-coating copolymer for sieving separation of native proteins by CE

The potential of a series of newly synthesized poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) (PDMA) grafted polyacrylamide (PAM) copolymers (P(AM-PDMA)) as a replaceable separation medium for protein analysis was studied. A comparative study with and without copolymers was performed; the separation efficiency, analysis reproducibility and protein recovery proved that the P(AM-PDMA) copolymers were efficient in suppressing the adsorption of basic proteins onto the silica capillary wall. Furthermore, the size-dependent retardation of native proteins in a representative P(AM-PDMA) copolymer was demonstrated by Ferguson analysis. The results showed that the P(AM-PDMA) copolymers combine the good coating property of PDMA and the sieving property of PAM and could be applied as a sieving matrix for the analysis of native proteins.     

Brush-like copolymer as a physically adsorbed coating for protein separation by capillary electrophoresis

A brush-like copolymer consisting of poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate and N,N-dimethylacrylamide (PEGMA-DMA) was synthesized and used as a novel static physically adsorbed coating for protein separation by capillary electrophoresis for the first time, in order to stabilize electroosmotic flow (EOF) and suppress adsorption of proteins onto the capillary wall. Very stable and low EOF was obtained in PEGMA-DMA-coated capillary at pH 2.2-7.8. The effects of molar ratio of PEGMA to DMA, copolymer molecular mass, and pH on the separation of basic proteins were discussed. A comparative study of bare capillary with PEGMA-DMA-coated capillary for protein separation was also performed. The basic proteins could be well separated in PEGMA-DMA-coated capillary over the investigated pH range of 2.8-6.8 with good repeatability and high separation efficiency because the copolymer coating combines good protein-resistant property of PEG side chains with excellent coating ability of PDMA-contained backbone. Finally, the coating was successfully applied to the fast separation of other protein samples, such as protein mixture and egg white, which reveals that it is a potential coating for further proteomics analysis.     

Synthesis,characterization, and properties of copolymer of acrylamide and complex pseudorotaxane monomer consisting of cucurbit[6]uril with butyl ammonium methacrylate

The novel copolymers of acrylamide (AM) with complex pseudorotaxane monomer (BAMACB) of butyl ammonium methacrylate (BAMA) and cucurbit[6]uril (CB[6]) were prepared via free‐radical polymerization in aqueous solution. The copolymers containing pseudorotaxane (PAM/BAMACB) were characterized by ¹H‐NMR, FTIR, elemental analysis, TGA, and DSC. The glass transition temperature (T_g) of the copolymer PAM/BAMACB are higher than that of the copolymer of acrylamide and butyl ammonium methacrylate (PAM/BAMA) because of the enhanced rigidity and the bulky steric hindrance of BAMACB side chain in PAM/BAMACB. The molecular weights of copolymer PAM/BAMACB were obtained via static light scattering. The hydrodynamic radii of coils or aggregates were investigated by dynamic light scattering. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 5999–6008, 2008     

Impact of polymer hydrophobicity on the properties and performance of DNA sequencing matrices for capillary electrophoresis

To elucidate the impact of matrix chemical and physical properties on DNA sequencing separations by capillary electrophoresis (CE), we have synthesized, characterized and tested a controlled set of different polymer formulations for this application. Homopolymers of acrylamide and N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA) and copolymers of DMA and N,N-diethylacrylamide (DEA) were synthesized by free radical polymerization and purified. Polymer molar mass distributions were characterized by tandem gel permeation chromatography - laser light scattering. Polymers with different chemical compositions and similar molar mass distributions were selected and employed at the same concentration so that the variables of comparison between them were hydrophobicity and average coil size in aqueous solution. We find that the low-shear viscosities of 7% w/v polymer solutions decrease by orders of magnitude with increasing polymer hydrophobicity, while hydrophilic polymers exhibit more pronounced reductions in viscosity with increased shear. The performance of the different matrices for DNA sequencing was compared with the same sample under identical CE conditions. The longest read length was produced with linear polyacrylamide (LPA) while linear poly-N,N-dimethylacrylamide (PDMA) gave approximately 100 fewer readable bases. Read lengths with DMA/DEA copolymers were lower, and decreased with increasing DEA content. This study highlights the importance of polymer hydrophilicity for high-performance DNA sequencing matrices, through the formation of robust, highly-entangled polymer networks and the minimization of hydrophobic interactions between polymers and fluorescently-labeled DNA molecules. However, the results also show that more hydrophobic matrices offer much lower viscosities, enabling easier microchannel loading at low applied pressures.     

DNA sequencing by capillary electrophoresis using mixtures of polyacrylamide and poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide)

The possibility of using polymer mixtures with different chemical compositions as a DNA sequencing matrix by capillary electrophoresis (CE) has been exploited. Polyacrylamide (PAM, 2.5%, w/v) having a molecular mass of 2.2 x 10(6) has been mixed with poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) (PDMA) having molecular masses of 8000, 470000 and 2.1 x 10(6) at concentrations of 0.2, 0.5 and 1% (w/v). Unlike polymer mixtures of the same polymer with different molecular masses, the use of polymer mixtures with different chemical compositions encounters an incompatibility problem. It was found that the incompatibility increased with increasing PDMA molecular mass and PDMA concentration, which resulted in decreased efficiency in DNA sequencing. Also, the incompatibility had a more pronounced effect on the efficiency as the base number was increased. However, by choosing a low-molecular-mass PDMA of 8000 and a low concentration of 0.2% (w/v), the incompatibility of PAM and PDMA has been alleviated. At the same time, the advantage of using polymer mixtures revealed a higher efficiency for such a polymer mixture when compared with PAM. The mixture also endowed the separation medium with a dynamic coating ability. An efficiency of over 10 x 10(6) theoretical plates per meter has been achieved by using the bare capillaries without the additional chemical coating step.     

Thermoresponsive N,N-dialkylacrylamide copolymer blends as DNA sieving matrices with a thermally tunable mesh size

In an earlier study we showed that a blend of thermoresponsive and nonthermoresponsive hydroxyalkylcelluloses could be used to create a thermally tunable polymer network for double-stranded (ds) DNA separation. Here, we show the generality of this approach using a family of polymers suited to a wider range of DNA separations: a blended mixture of N,N-dialkylacrylamide copolymers with different thermoresponsive behaviors. A mixture of 47% w/w N,N-diethylacrylamide (DEA)/53% w/w N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA) (DEA47; thermoresponsive, transition temperature = 55 degrees C in water) and 30% w/w DEA/70% w/w DMA (DEA30; nonthermoresponsive, transition temperature > 85 degrees C in water) copolymers in the ratio of 1:5 w/w DEA47:DEA30 was used to separate a dsDNA restriction digest (PhiX174-HaeIII). We investigated the effects of changing mesh size on dsDNA separation, as controlled by temperature. We observed good DNA separation performance with the copolymer blend at temperatures ranging from 25 degrees C to 48 degrees C. The separation selectivity was evaluated quantitatively for certain DNA fragment pairs as a function of temperature. The results were compared with those obtained with a control matrix consisting only of the nonthermoresponsive DEA30. Different DNA fragment pairs of various sizes show distinct temperature-dependent selectivities. Over the same temperature range, no significant temperature dependence of selectivity is observed for these DNA fragment pairs in the nonthermoresponsive control matrix. Overall, the results show similar trends in the temperature dependency of separation selectivity to what was previously observed in hydroxyalkylcellulose blends, for the same DNA fragment pairs. Finally, we showed that a ramped temperature scheme enables improved separation in the blended copolymer matrix for both small and large DNA fragments, simultaneously in a single capillary electrophoresis (CE) run.     

SYNTHESIS AND PROPERTIES OF COPOLYMERS CONTAINING CUCURBIT[6]URIL-BASED PSEUDOROTAXANE STRUCTURE

Novel copolymers based on acrylamide（AM）and complex pseudorotaxane monomer N’-（3-vinylbenzyl）-1,4- diaminobutane dihydrochloride with cucurbit[6]uril（CB[6]）（3VBCB）were prepared via free-radical polymerization in aqueous solution,and characterized by ¹H-NMR,FT-IR,elemental analysis and static light scattering.The compositions of the copolymers（PAM3VBCB）with pseudorotaxane units were determined by ¹H-NMR and elemental analysis.Thermal properties of the copolymers were studied by TGA,and the effects of the copolymer concentration and pH on the average hydrodynamic radius（R_h）of the copolymer molecules were studied by dynamic light scattering（DLS）.The experiment data show that CB[6]beads are localized on 1,4-diaminobutane units in side chains of the copolymers.TGA results show that thermal stability of the copolymer increases with increasing the content of pseudorotaxane unit because of the enhanced rigidity and the bulky steric hindrance of 3VBCB in side chains of PAM3VBCB.DLS data show that the average hydrodynamic radius of copolymer molecules increases with the increase in the copolymer concentration,and both the pH and electrical conductivity of PAM3VBCB solutions demonstrate an acute change with addition of NaOH because of CB[6] dethreading from the side chains of PAM3VBCB.CB[6]threading and dethreading of PAM3VBCB could be controlled by addition of BaCl₂ and Na₂SO₄     

Synthesis and characterization of poly (1‐vinyl‐3‐butylimidazolium‐co‐methyl methacrylate) gel polymer electrolytes for dye‐sensitized solar cells: Effect of structure and composition

Herein, three ionic liquid random copolymers (P) containing 1‐vinyl‐3‐butylimidazolium bromide (VBImBr) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) with various molar ratios were prepared using conventional free radical polymerization. Afterward, their corresponding chemically cross‐linked copolymers (XP) were formed similarly in the presence of polyethylene glycol dimethacrylate (PEGDMA). The synthesized copolymers were characterized using FT‐IR, ¹H NMR, and GPC. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) results showed that the rigidity and thermal stability of the copolymers depended on the ionic liquid content as well as the degree of cross‐linking. Gel polymer electrolytes were then prepared via obtained copolymers in the presence of a constant amount of synthesized imidazolium‐based ionic liquid. Among the copolymers, the P3 with in feed VBImBr:MMA molar ratio of 70:30 and the cross‐linked 1%‐XP3 copolymer prepared with 1 mol% of PEGDMA exhibited the highest conductivity and diffusion coefficients for I₃^¯ and I^¯. The power conversion efficiency of the optimized linear and cross‐linked copolymers (P3 and 1%‐XP3) under the simulated AM 1.5 solar spectrum irradiation at 100 mW cm^?2 were 3.49 and 4.13% in the fabricated dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), respectively. The superior long‐term stability and high performance of the gel electrolyte containing 1%‐XP3 suggested it as commercial gel electrolyte for future DSSCs.     

Stabilising effect of monomers,homopolymers and copolymers of vinyl derivatives of sterically hindered amines on the photo-oxidation of polypropylene

Vinyl derivatives of sterically hindered amines, N-(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl)methacrylamide, 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl acrylate and methacrylate and 1,2,2,6,6-pentamethyl-4-piperidyl acrylate and methacrylate were prepared. Monomers, homopolymers and copolymers with dodecyl methacrylate (DMA) and octadecyl acrylate (ODA) were tested as stabilisers of the photo-oxidation of polypropylene film. The copolymers exhibited higher efficiency and lower extractability. The photostabilising efficiency increased in the order: homopolymer < monomer < copolymer with DMA < copolymer with ODA.     

Ethylene-Propene Copolymerization with C_1-symmetric ansa-Fluorenyl-zirconocene Catalysts: Effects of Catalyst Structure and Comonomer on Molar Mass

Ethylene-propene copolymers have been synthesized by three C_1-symmetric metallocene molecules(1, 2, and 3), having tert-butyl substituents on the Cp moiety, on the fluorenyl moiety, or on both moieties, and methylaluminoxane(MAO) at different polymerization temperatures and monomer concentrations. Copolymers were investigated by ~(13) C-NMR, ~1 H-NMR, and SEC analyses. A relationship was found between [EEE]/[E] ratios and copolymer molar masses in each series: the higher the [EEE]/[E] ratio, the lower the copolymer molar mass. At parity of [EEE]/[E] ratio, copolymer molar mass follows the order 1 3 2. Chain end group analysis reveals that copolymers mainly terminate when propene is the last inserted unit, confirming that it is the greater facility of Mt-P-E-poly(E-co-P) to terminate that influences the copolymer molar mass. Among the catalysts considered, catalyst 1, which gives syndiospecific polypropene, gives greater activities, comonomer incorporation,and molar masses. Catalyst 3, which gives isospecific polypropene, in copolymerization performs better than 2, having the same bridge, with respect to activities, ethylene content, and molar masses. The good performance of this catalyst arises from the not necessity of polymer chain to back skip when ethylene is the last inserted unit.     

Novel phenanthrocarbazole based donor–acceptor random and alternating copolymers for photovoltaics

A series of 6H‐phenanthro[1,10,9,8‐cdefg]carbazole (PC) and benzothiadiazole (BT) based donor–acceptor (D‐A) random copolymers PPC‐T‐BT_3/1, PPC‐T‐BT_2/1, PPC‐T‐BT_1/1, PPC‐T‐BT_1/2, and PPC‐T‐BT_1/3 were easily prepared by varying the molar ratio of PC to BT from 3:1, 2:1, 1:1, 1:2, to 1:3, respectively. The corresponding alternating D‐A copolymer poly{6H‐phenanthro[1,10,9,8‐cdefg]carbazole‐alt‐5,5‐(4′,7′‐di‐2‐thienyl‐2′,1′,3′‐benzothiadiazole} (PPCDTBT) was also synthesized for comparison. Compared with PPCDTBT, PPC‐T‐BT_1/1, PPC‐T‐BT_1/2, and PPC‐T‐BT_1/3 obtained more pronounced intramolecular charge transfer band and extended absorption. Power conversion efficiency of these copolymer‐based devices strongly depends on the D/A molar ratio, related to the spectrum absorption and active layer morphology. Among the polymer solar cells based on random copolymers, PPC‐T‐BT_2/1:PC₆₁BM based device achieved the best efficiency of 1.9%, which is close to the efficiency of PPCDTBT:PC₆₁BM based device (2.3%). Therefore, it is concluded that the random copolymer can achieve the comparable performance to alternating copolymer by precisely adjusting the D/A molar ratio on small scales. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013 , 51, 4885–4893     

Poly-N-hydroxyethylacrylamide (polyDuramide): a novel,hydrophilic, self-coating polymer matrix for DNA sequencing by capillary electrophoresis

A replaceable polymer matrix, based on the novel monomer N-hydroxyethylacrylamide (HEA), has been synthesized for application in DNA separation by microchannel electrophoresis. The monomer was found by micellar electrokinetic chromatography analysis of monomer partitioning between water and 1-octanol to be more hydrophilic than acrylamide and N,N-dimethylacrylamide. Polymers were synthesized by free radical polymerization in aqueous solution. The weight-average molar mass of purified polymer was characterized by tandem gel permeation chromatography-multiangle laser light scattering. The steady-shear rheological behavior of the novel DNA sequencing matrix was also characterized, and it was found that the viscosity of the novel matrix decreases by more than 2 orders of magnitude as the shear rate is increased from 0.1 to 1000 s(-1). Moreover, in the shear-thinning region, the rate of change of matrix viscosity with shear rate increases with increasing polymer concentration. Poly-N-hydroxyethylacrylamide (PHEA) exhibits good capillary-coating ability, via adsorption from aqueous solution, efficiently suppressing electroosmotic flow (EOF) in a manner comparable to that of poly-N,N-dimethylacrylamide. Under DNA sequencing conditions, adsorptive PHEA coatings proved to be stable and to maintain negligible EOF for over 600 h of electrophoresis. Resolution of DNA sequencing fragments, particularly fragments > 500 bases, in PHEA matrices generally improves with increasing polymer concentration and decreasing electric field strength. When PHEA is used both as a separation matrix and as a dynamic coating in bare silica capillaries, the matrix can resolve over 620 bases of contiguous DNA sequence within 3 h. These results demonstrate the good potential of PHEA matrices for high-throughput DNA analysis by microchannel electrophoresis.     

Fast DNA sequencing up to 1,000 bases by capillary electrophoresis using poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) as a separation medium

Poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) (PDMA) with a molecular mass of 5.2 x 10(6) g/mol has been synthesized and used in DNA sequencing analysis by capillary electrophoresis (CE). A systematic investigation is presented on the effects of different separation conditions, such as injection amount, capillary inner diameter, polymer concentration, effective separation length, electric field and temperature, on the resolution. DNA sequencing up to 800 bases with a resolution (R) limit of 0.5 (and 1,000 bases with a resolution limit of 0.3) and a migration time of 96 min was achieved by using 2.5% w/v polymer, 150 V/cm separation electric field, and 60 cm effective separation length at room temperature on a DNA sample prepared with FAM-labeled--21M13 forward primer on pGEM3Zf(+) and terminated with ddCTP. Ultrafast and fast DNA sequencing up to 420 and 590 bases (R > or = 0.5) were also achieved by using 3% w/v polymer and 40 cm effective separation length with a separation electric field of 525 and 300 V/cm, and a migration time of 12.5 and 31.5 min, respectively. PDMA has low viscosity, long shelf life and dynamic coating ability to the glass surface. The unique properties of PDMA make it a very good candidate as a separation medium for large-scale DNA sequencing by capillary array electrophoresis (CAE).     

ε-己内酯与D,L-丙交酯嵌段共聚物的合成及其作为生物降解性恒定释放药物的高分子载体的评价

用负离子络合型催化剂——Al/Zn双金属氧桥烷氧化物,[(RO)_2OAlO]_2Zn,研究了ε-己内酯与D,L-丙交酯的嵌段共聚合,合成了预定结构的单分散的(?/?1.12)AB型嵌段共聚物,通过控制两种链段的比例能有效控制药物释放和生物降解的速度,可望成为新型生物降解性控制药物释放的载体及其它生物医用材料。     

DNA sequencing with hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymers at elevated column temperatures

Read length in DNA sequencing by capillary electrophoresis at elevated temperatures is shown to be greatly affected by the extent of hydrophobicity of the polymer separation matrix. At column temperatures of up to 80 degrees C, hydrophilic linear polyacrylamide (LPA) provides superior read length and separation speed compared to poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) (PDMA) and a 70:30 copolymer of N,N-dimethylacrylamide and N,N-diethylacrylamide (PDEA30). DNA-polymer and polymer intramolecular interactions are presumed to be a major cause of band broadening and the subsequent loss of separation efficiency with the more hydrophobic polymers at higher column temperatures. With LPA, these interactions were reduced, and a read length of 1000 bases at an optimum temperature of 70 degrees -75 degrees C was achieved in less than 59 min. By comparison, PDMA produced a read length of roughly 800 bases at 50 degrees C, which was close to the read length attained in LPA at the same temperature; however, the migration time was approximately 20% longer, mainly because of the higher polymer concentration required. At 60 degrees C, the maximum read length was 850 bases for PDMA, while at higher temperatures, read lengths for this polymer were substantially lower. With the copolymer DEA30, read length was 650 bases at the optimum temperature of 50 degrees C. Molecular masses of these polymers were determined by tandem gel permeation chromatography-multiangle laser light scattering method (GPC-MALLS). The results indicate that for long read, rapid DNA sequencing and analysis, hydrophilic polymers such as LPA provide the best overall performance.     

Quasi-interpenetrating network formed by polyacrylamide and poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) used in high-performance DNA sequencing analysis by capillary electrophoresis

Quasi-interpenetrating network (IPN) formed by polyacrylamide and poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) was designed, synthesized, and tested as a high-performance DNA separation medium by capillary electrophoresis. The performance of quasi-IPN on DNA sequencing was determined by the acrylamide to dimethylacrylamide molar ratio, polyacrylamide molecular weight, and its size distribution. Under optimal operating conditions, quasi-IPN was able to achieve one-color DNA sequencing up to 1000 bases in 39 min, or 1200 bases in 60 min. Its performance was compared with some of the existing commercialized products, such as POP6 from Applied Biosystems and MegaBACE matrix from Amersham Biosciences. By using the ABI 310 Genetic Analyzer, even without optimized base-calling software, quasi-IPN yielded a read length of up to 700 bases of contiguous sequence (50-750 bases) in 35 min with 99.6% accuracy, or 750 bases of contiguous sequence (50-800 bases) in 37 min with 98.0% accuracy.     

甜菜碱型两性离子聚合物P(AM-DMAPAAS)的盐溶液性质

将丙烯酰胺丙基二甲基胺（DMAPAA）和1,3-丙基磺内酯,在55 ℃下反应20 h,合成了3-（丙烯酰胺丙基二甲胺基）丙磺酸盐（DMAPAAS）,将其在盐溶液中与丙烯酰胺（AM）单体进行自由基共聚合反应,获得净电荷为零的磺基甜菜碱型两性离子共聚物P(AM-DMAPAAS);对该两性离子共聚物进行了表征和溶解性评价。 研究结果表明,共聚物在NaCl溶液中的粘度比在纯水中的大,在Mg2+和Ca2+盐溶液中的粘度更大,且随着溶液浓度的增大而增大,表现出明显的反聚电解质溶液性质。 升高相同温度,两性离子共聚物的粘度保留率是普通聚丙烯酰胺的1.4倍。     

Determination of the Molar-Mass Averages of Random Poly(aspartate-co-lactide) Copolymers by Tuning the Ionic Strength of the Solvent

Water-soluble sodium poly(aspartate-co-lactide) (PALNa) copolymers with a molar ratio of aspartate-to-lactide units equal to 1:0.6, 1:1.0 and 1:1.5 were studied using NMR spectroscopy to determine the composition as well as SEC-MALS and static light-scattering measurements to determine the molar-mass characteristics of the copolymers. In the copolymer aqueous solutions, high-molar-mass species were detected, most probably due to the incomplete dissolution of the samples. The molar-mass averages determined in water with added simple electrolyte, i.e., NaCl, were much lower than the values determined in pure water. The concentration of the salt, which allows dissolution on a molecular level, and the separation predominantly according to a size-exclusion mechanism depend on the chemical composition of the PALNa copolymers. The optimal mobile phase for the PALNa-1/0.6 and the PALNa-1/1.0 copolymers was 0.1 M NaCl at pH 9, and for the PALNa-1/1.5 copolymer with a higher content of lactide units it was 0.05 M NaCl at pH 9. The molar-mass averages of the PALNa-1/1.0 copolymer, determined by SEC-MALS and static light-scattering measurements, were comparable.