The Mechanism of Particulate Carrier Reactions

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Abstract
Summary: Suspensions of polystyrene latex particles treated with human γ-globulin are empolyed in a variety of serologic agglutination procedures. The protein is adsorbed onto the surface of the latex particles and this adsorption can be described by a Langmuir type of isotherm. The adsorption process is in two steps. The amount of protein adsorbed in the first step is proportional to the surface area of the latex particles. The data obtained are consistent with two interpretations. One is that the protein is adsorbed as a double molecular layer where the second layer contains about half the amount of adsorbed protein in the first layer. An alternate view is that the adsorbed protein forms a random immobile film with the molecules oriented parallel to the particle surface. Further adsorption then takes place in the interstices between molecules already adsorbed, but now the molecules are perpendicularly oriented to the particle surface. Estimations of the fraction of surface occupied by molecules in the two different orientations are in good agreement with theoretic calculations. A latex particle of 8020 Å in diameter can adsorb a maximum of about 75,000 γ-globulin molecules.

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