87Rb+ spin relaxation in enzymically purified and in untreated iota-carrageenan.

The temperature dependences of the transverse (R2) and longitudinal (R1) n.m.r. relaxation rates of 87Rb+ in aqueous 5% iota-carrageenan have been compared with similar data for a sample purified by treatment with kappa-carrageenase. In each sample, the relaxation rates were sensitive to the conformation (helix or random coil). In the intact sample, the small (less than or equal to 5%) fraction of kappa-carrageenan (which, in its helical state, specifically binds rubidium ions) was solely responsible for the pronounced line-broadening that has been observed hitherto for 87Rb in iota-carrageenan gels. In the purified sample, the effects on the relaxation of 87Rb induced by iota-carrageenan are similar to those found in comparable systems in the absence of site-binding of the ions. Thus, there was a modest enhancement of the relaxation with R1 approximately R2 for the flexible coil conformation and a comparably larger effect, with significant contributions from dynamic processes on the time-scale of the inverse resonance frequency or longer, for the thicker, more highly charged and rigid helix conformation of iota-carrageenan.