Protein Diffusion through Polymer Meshes As Observed by Pulsed-Field Gradient NMR

Pulsed-field gradient NMR was employed to observe the diffusion of alpha-lactalbumin in poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) solutions of deuterated water. Polymer mesh size and the interactions between protein and polymer networks strongly affect protein diffusion through polymer meshes. The diffusion coefficients determined by pulsed-field gradient NMR show a good agreement at low polymer concentrations with those obtained by neutron spin-echo spectroscopy (NSE). Deviation between experimental data from theoretical prediction comes from the interactions between protein and polymer meshes.