The use and development of the dynamic light-scattering method to investigate supramolecular structures in aqueous solutions of bacterial lipopolysaccharides

Abstract

The temperature dependence of the scattering intensity, average size, and size distribution for supramolecular particles in aqueous solutions of lipopolysaccharides from Azospirillum bacteria was investigated by dynamic light scattering. Relationships were obtained that made it possible to comparatively estimate the mass–volume concentration of the biopolymeric substance in suspensions and the number concentration of supramolecular particles with their size and degree of polydispersity taken into account. In the range from 0 to 60°C, two types of the temperature dependence of scattering intensity were found: (a) with an irregular spasmodic change in scattering intensity and with considerable heterogeneity of the systems with respect to particle size and (b) with a smoother character of this dependence with considerably decreased heterogeneity of the suspensions. In the ranges of the latter type, whose location depended on what strain was used to isolate lipopolysaccharides, it proved to be possible to correctly determine the parameters of the supramolecular particles (of the supposedly formed micellar phase) by dynamic light scattering. The revealed statistically significant differences in the size and the concentration of the micellar particles are explained by their dependence on the peculiarities of the chemical structure of lipopolysaccharides. Atomic-force microscopy was used for an independent morphological estimation of the preparations, yielding good agreement with the dynamic light-scattering results.