Osmotic Pressure and Diffusion Constant of Protein Extracted From Wool With Urea-Bisulphite Solutions

Abstract

Wool treated with 8M urea, OAM NaHS03 at 60°C forms a polydisperse soluble protein of number-average molecular weight 12,000-16,000 as deduced from osmotic pressure measurements. The values lie within this range whether 20 or 70 per cent. of the wool is dissolved. The pH of measurement or of extraction has no effect on the molecular weight of the solute over the range 5.6-8.0. 'The diffusion constant, Dzo, W' of the soluble protein is 4.5 X 10-7 cm2sec-1 .