Abstract
IT has been proposed1 that polysaccharide shapes in solution might be characterized by the monochromatic optical rotation, using Kauzmann's additivity principle2 to obtain a conformational term, [Λ], which is then analysed according to the methods of Whiffen3 and Brewster4. Experimental evidence does indeed show that the optical rotations of polysaccharides are sensitive to conformation5,6 and, with certain reservations, the interpretation works remarkably well1. For unsubstituted neutral polysaccharides there is no alternative to such an empirical analysis because the rotational strengths on which a more fundamental treatment might be based cannot be measured with present instruments. We now describe some conclusions which emerge for oligo and polysaccharide conformations in aqueous solution.
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References
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REES, D., SCOTT, W. & WILLIAMSON, F. Correlation of Optical Activity with Polysaccharide Conformation. Nature 227, 390–392 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/227390a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/227390a0
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