title: Supramolecular chiral self-assembly and supercoiling behavior of carrageenans at varying salt conditions.
abstract: The self-assembly of anionic kappa and iota carrageenan polysaccharides in the presence of NaCl, KCl and CaCl2 is studied by high-resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM). A hierarchical supramolecular chirality amplification over various length scales is observed upon the addition of KCl, whereas in the presence of NaCl and CaCl2 the chains undergo solely a coil-helix transition with stiff kappa carrageenan and more flexible iota carrageenan helical conformations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland. raffaele.mezzenga@hest.ethz.ch.
authors.forename: Larissa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schefer
authors.forename: Jozef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Adamcik
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Diener
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mezzenga
mesh_terms: D002122:Calcium Chloride / Q000737:chemistry*; D002351:Carrageenan / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D011189:Potassium Chloride / Q000737:chemistry*; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D012965:Sodium Chloride; D011189:Potassium Chloride; D002351:Carrageenan; D002122:Calcium Chloride