The Determination of Partial Specific Volumes by Differential Sedimentation

Sedimentation in aqueous and heavy water solutions has been used to determine the partial specific volume of bovine plasma albumin, sodium alginate, and polyvinyl alcohol, resulting in 0.74 ± 0.01 (S.D.), 0.54 ± 0.06, and 0.79 ± 0.01 ml./gm. at 25 °C, respectively. The sedimentation method yields results comparable with those given by conventional methods for macromolecules.