Dextrans in Aqueous Solution. Experimental Review on Intrinsic Viscosity Measurements and Temperature Effect

The study of biopolymers as dextran in aqueous solution, is effectively determined by intrinsic viscosity [η] measurements at different temperatures. Molecular weight (Mv) and hydrodynamic properties can be calculated from there. The Mark-Houwink parameters indicate the dependence with temperature (T) in the range from 20 to 50ºC, ie with increasing T a increases and kM-H decreases. These hydrodynamic parameters show that these polysaccharides behave as a compact rigid sphere and contract by the increase of temperature (RH decreases) for the Mw range from 8.8 to 200kDa.