THE BEHAVIOR OF DYE‐MUCOPOLYSACCHARIDE COMPLEXES—I. SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES OF THE SYSTEM CHONDROITIN SULFATE A‐ACRIDINE ORANGE

Abstract—Absorption, fluorescence, and circular dichroism (CD) spectra have been obtained for a mucopolysaccharide—cationic dye complex. The dye acridine orange exhibits a blue shift in its absorption maximum and a red shift in its fluorescence maximum when mixed with chondroitin sulfate A in aqueous solution. The spectral shifts of the dye appear to be reversed by addition of salt, divalent cations being more effective than monovalent cations. The complex exhibits induced optical activity in the visible absorption spectrum of acridine orange. The biphasic nature of the CD curve is compatible with interpretations involving chromophore coupling.