Skip to main content
The Journal of General Physiology logoLink to The Journal of General Physiology
. 1950 May 20;33(5):511–523. doi: 10.1085/jgp.33.5.511

THE INTRINSIC VISCOSITY OF MIXED PROTEIN SYSTEMS, INCLUDING STUDIES OF PLASMA AND SERUM

Eugene L Hess 1, Aspascia Cobure 1
PMCID: PMC2147209  PMID: 15422105

Abstract

Experimental evidence is presented that the intrinsic viscosity of solutions of mixed proteins obeys the additive equation See PDF for Equation. The datum serves to characterize the system, and combined with other analytical techniques and fractionation procedures, enables one to analyze and characterize subfractions. The plasmas and sera of clinically "normal" individuals give intrinsic viscosity values agreeing with calculated values. The intrinsic viscosity values for pathological plasmas and sera in all cases are greater than normal and reflect the augmented levels of those proteins fibrinogen, α2-globulins, and γ-globulins occurring in the pathological state. The method is readily adaptable to routine clinical use and furnishes a measure of the departure from normal of protein levels in serum and plasma.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (659.1 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Chow B. F. THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE ALBUMIN AND ALPHA GLOBULIN CONTENTS OF PLASMA. J Clin Invest. 1947 Sep;26(5):883–886. doi: 10.1172/JCI101881. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Hardy W. B. Colloidal solution. The globulins. J Physiol. 1905 Dec 30;33(4-5):251–337. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1905.sp001126. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Houston J., Whittington R. B., Cowan I. C., Harkness J. THE PLASMA VISCOSITY IN PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS AND RHEUMATIC DISEASES. J Clin Invest. 1949 Jul;28(4):752–763. doi: 10.1172/JCI102128. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Mehl J. W., Oncley J. L., Simha R. VISCOSITY AND THE SHAPE OF PROTEIN MOLECULES. Science. 1940 Aug 9;92(2380):132–133. doi: 10.1126/science.92.2380.132. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. SURGENOR D. M., STRONG L. E. The separation of choline esterase, mucoprotein, and metal-combining protein into subfractions of human plasma. J Am Chem Soc. 1949 Apr;71(4):1223–1229. doi: 10.1021/ja01172a025. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Seibert F. B., Seibert M. V., Atno A. J., Campbell H. W. VARIATION IN PROTEIN AND POLYSACCHARIDE CONTENT OF SERA IN THE CHRONIC DISEASES, TUBERCULOSIS, SARCOIDOSIS, AND CARCINOMA. J Clin Invest. 1947 Jan;26(1):90–102. doi: 10.1172/JCI101794. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Tillett W. S., Francis T. SEROLOGICAL REACTIONS IN PNEUMONIA WITH A NON-PROTEIN SOMATIC FRACTION OF PNEUMOCOCCUS. J Exp Med. 1930 Sep 30;52(4):561–571. doi: 10.1084/jem.52.4.561. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of General Physiology are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES