Helical amylose complexes with organic complexands, 1. Microcalorimetric and circular dichroitic investigations

Complexation of different synthetic amyloses (Pn between 9 and 1000) with sodium dodecyl sulfate and 4‐tert‐butylphenol was investigated by means of microcalorimetry and circular dichroism. The results were compared with the complexation behaviour of α‐, β and γ‐cyclodextrins with the same guest molecules. All amyloses investigated formed complexes with sodium dodecyl sulfate in a fast reaction. In these complexes the amyloses possess a helical conformation with six glucose units per turn, which should already exist in aqueous solution before complexation. tert‐Butylphenol only forms complexes with amyloses of a Pn higher than 100. In this case apparently the amylose must adjust to complex the tert‐butylphenol in a helix with seven or eight glucose units per turn. Using these methods the complexation of sodium dodecyl sulfate with amylopectin was also demonstrated.