Monovalent and divalent cation effects on phase transitions of iota-carrageenan

Abstract

Phase transitions Of L-carrageenan in a variety of monovalent (Li, Na, K) and divalent (Mg, Ca, Sr) cation solutions were studied during heating and cooling by using photon transmission technique. Photon transmission intensity (I-tr) was monitored against temperature to determine the transition temperatures and activation energies during the heating and cooling processes in the monovalent and divalent systems. Three distinct transition regions were observed during the heating and cooling cycles for the carrageenan-divalent salt system. At the first step of the heating process, dimer groups were transformed into dimers that presented (g-d) transitions, then these dimers were directly converted into a double helix by undergoing a (d-h) transition. In the higher temperature region, a double helix-to-coil (h-c) transition took place. During the cooling process, these transitions are arranged in the order of (c-h), (h-d), and (d-g). The carrageenan-monovalent salt system presented only coil-to-rod-like helix (c-r) and rod-like helix-to-coil (r-c) transitions during the cooling and heating processes, respectively. A hysteresis was observed between (r-c)-(c-r) and (g-d)-(d-g) transitions for the monovalent and divalent cations, respectively.