A structural basis for the amphiphilic character of alginates - Implications for membrane fouling.

Ostensibly hydrophilic alginates are known to foul hydrophobic membranes, under various conditions. Here, controlled experiments have been conducted at high and low pH on the fouling of a polypropylene membrane by alginate and the results suggest that the observed fouling is due to an intrinsic property of the alginate. Thus quantum chemical calculations on the M and G monomers of alginate reveal that M adopts an equilibrium geometry that is hydrophilic on one face and hydrophobic on the other, i.