ISSN:
0006-3525
Keywords:
Chemistry
;
Polymer and Materials Science
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
Notes:
Measurements have been made of the intensity of light scattered from aqueous solutions of calf thymus DNA with and without the application of electric fields. For fields approaching 150 V/cm and frequencies below 2.5 KHz, changes (ΔI) of up to 10% in the residual scattered intensity were observed. In agreement with previous dielectric and electric birefringence measurements, a low frequency dispersion of ΔI was observed, from which a rotary diffusion constant (D) of 1200 s-1 was determined. Interpreting the electric field data in terms of the classical dipolar orientation theory led to values of 2.4 × 10-25 cm (7.4 × 10-14 esu) and 4.3 × 10-25 cm (13 × 10-14 esu) for the permanent dipole moment and the anisotropy of the electric polarisabilities respectively. Furthermore the permanent dipole moment was along the major molecular axis and the particles orientated in the field as rigid entities. The zero field data indicated a molecular shape which was not rodlike but corresponded to the Kratky-Porod “stiffness” parameter of x = 24 for the wormlike coil model. Although curved, the molecules appeared to orientate in low-intensity electric fields as rigid, but not rodlike molecules. The implications of this on recent discrepancies in D determined by two or more dynamic relaxation methods is briefly discussed.
Additional Material:
4 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bip.1970.360091106
