Summary
Poly-L-glutamic acid (PLGA) in aqueous solution in helical or random coil form was irradiated in air by X-rays or ultra-violet light. It was observed that both X-rays and ultra-violet light caused degradation of PLGA in either form. The changes in molecular weight of PLGA in alkaline solutions caused by X-ray irradiation were larger than those in acidic solutions. This fact indicates that the coil form suffers more degradation than the helix form. X-rays caused little change in the conformation of PLGA, while ultra-violet light effectively broke the helix form. The decrease in helix content brought about by ultra-violet exposure could not be explained just by degradation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Charlesby, A.: Atomic radiation and polymers. London: Pergamon Press 1960.
—, Thomas, D. K.: A comparison of the effects of ultraviolet and gamma radiation in polymethylmethacrylate. Proc. roy. Soc. A269, 104–124 (1962).
Doty, P., Wada, A., Yang, J. T.: Polypeptides. VIII. Molecular configurations of poly-L-glutamic acid in water-dioxane solution. J. Polymer Sci.23, 851–860 (1957).
Nitta, K., Sugai, S.: Potentiometric titration of poly-DL-glutamic acid in aqueous solutions. Japan. J. Appl. Phys.4, 468–469 (1965).
Rosenheck, K., Doty, P.: The far ultraviolet absorption spectra of polypeptide and protein solutions and their dependence on conformation. Proc. nat. Acad. Sci. (Wash.)47, 1775 to 1785 (1961).
Ishikawa, M.: Effects of ultraviolet radiation on aqueous polyelectrolyte solutions. J. Polymer Sci.7, 993–1003 (1969).
Wada, A.: Helix-coil transformation and titration curve of poly-L-glutamic acid. J. molec. Biol.2, 409–416 (1960).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ishikawa, M. The effects of ultra-violet light and X-rays on aqueous solutions of poly-L-glutamic acid. Biophysik 7, 1–7 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01189456
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01189456