The equilibrium sedimentation of hyaluronic acid and of two synthetic polymers

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Abstract
The method of equilibrium sedimentation has been investigated as an alternative to osmotic-pressure measurement for determining thermodynamic properties of polymer solutions at relatively high concentrations. The simplifications that must be made in the theoretical treatment are discussed. Measurements have been made on samples of polyethylene glycol, neutralized polymethacrylic acid and hyaluronic acid. With the 1st and 3rd, values of the ''non-ideality coefficients'' have been obtained that agree with those obtained from osmotic measurements on the same materials. Evidence has been obtained of the presence in hyaluronic acid preparations of a fraction that has either a lower degree of thermodynamic non-ideality or a higher density increment than the bulk of the sample. This fraction is not protein.