Protein-carbohydrate interaction: XI. A study of turbidity as it relates to concanavalin A—glycan interaction

A comparison of the behaviour of the concanavalin A—polysaccharide and antibody—antigen systems with regard to various parameters of turbidity was conducted. It was demonstrated that in common with antibody—antigen systems, the reaction of concanavalin A with polysaccharides: (1) shows the ratio which yields the highest rate of development of turbidity is in the moderate concanavalin A excess region, (2) yields a series of apparent equivalence curves by turbidimetry which differ from the equivalence curves obtained by the quantitative precipitin method, and (3) shows a decrease in the rate of turbidity development in the presence of hapten inhibitor. In addition it was demonstrated that the degree of inhibition of the maximum constant turbidity caused by hapten inhibitors was identical to the degree of inhibition as determined by the amount of convanavalin A which precipitated. It was also shown that the quantitative estimation of inhibition (as determined turbidimetrically) at any time during the formation of turbidity yielded results which were directly proportional to those obtained by the quantitative precipitin method.