a Institut Charles Sadron, CNRS UPR 22, 6 rue Boussingault, F-67083, Strasbourg Cedex, France
b Laboratoire de Spectromètrie Physique, CNRS UMR 5588, Université Joseph Fourier, BP 87, F-38042, Saint Martin D'heres Cedex, France
Abstract:
The thermoreversible gelation of chemically modified agarose has been studied in aqueous binary solvents (dimethyl sulfoxide and a series of formamide) by differential calorimetry, mechanical testing, and small-angle neutron scattering. The temperature–composition phase diagrams have been established. It is concluded that gelation is promoted by the formation of ternary complexes modified agarose/water/cosolvent, wherein the cosolvent mediates the interaction between chains through the formation of electrostatic interactions.