Rheological studies of the interaction of mucins with alginate and polyacrylate

The associative interaction of purified ovine and porcine submaxillary mucins (OSM and PSM) with sodium alginate was evaluated by comparing the rheological properties of mixtures against those of pure alginate and mucin in dilute, semi-dilute, and concentrated solutions. These systems were investigated as models for the interaction of mucin with the extracellular alginate produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In dilute solution, evidence for such interaction cannot be obtained because aggregate species exist both in the OSM-alginate mixtures as well as in pure OSM. However, in the semi-dilute regime, mixtures containing a higher proportion of mucin show systematically higher viscosities than those predicted by simple additivity. In concentrated solutions containing higher proportion of mucin, an enhanced elastic response is observed. These results demonstrate a substantial binding interaction of mucins with alginate. This property is not observed in mixtures containing a high proportion of alginate, suggesting that mucins possess relatively low numbers of interacting sites. Introduction of 3 mM Ca2+ ions to all mucin-alginate mixtures enhances the elasticity due to gelation of alginate. Finally, comparison of the rheological properties of PSM-alginate mixtures with those of PSM-polyacrylate mixtures indicates that the binding strength of alginate to mucin is significantly weaker than that of polyacrylate.