Successive changes of solvent conditions can be used to dissociate and reassociate the triple-helical structure of (1,3)-beta-D-glucans. Ultramicroscopic techniques have revealed a blend of circular and other structures following renaturation. When this solvent exchange process is carried out in the presence of certain polynucleotides, the process creates a novel macromolecular complex. Here, we use size exclusion chromatography (SEC) to study such (1,3)-beta-D-glucan-polynucleotide complexes. Online multi-angle laser-light scattering (MALLS) and refractive index (RI) detectors allowed determination of molecular weight and radius of gyration of the molecules. An ultraviolet (UV) detector allowed specific detection of the polynucleotide. The poly-cytidylic acid (poly C) shifted to coelution with the linear fraction of the scleroglucan following the renaturation of poly C-scleroglucan blends, indicating that poly C is incorporated in linear, but not in circular, structures of scleroglucan. This conclusion was consistent with AFM topographs that revealed a decreased fraction of circular structures upon addition of poly C during the renaturation process. The combined information about radius of gyration (R(g)) and molecular weight (M(w)) allowed us to conclude that the poly C-scleroglucan complexes are more dense and have a higher persistence length than linear scleroglucan triple helixes. The experimentally determined mass per unit length was used as a basis for elucidating possible molecular arrangements within the poly C-scleroglucan complex.
(c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 79: 115-127, 2005.