Entering and exiting the protein-polyelectrolyte coacervate phase via nonmonotonic salt dependence of critical conditions

Critical conditions for coacervation of poly(dimethyldiallylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC) with bovine serum albumin were determined as a function of ionic strength, pH, and protein/polyelectrolyte stoichiometry. The resultant phase boundaries, clearly defined with this narrow molecular weight distribution PDADMAC sample, showed nonmonotonic ionic strength dependence, with the pH-induced onset of coacervation (at pH(phi)) occurring most readily at 20 mM NaCl. The corresponding onset of soluble complex formation, pH(c), determined using high-precision turbidimetry sensitive to changes of less than 0.1% transmittance units, mirrored the ionic strength dependence of pH(phi). This nonmonotonic binding behavior is attributable to simultaneous screening of short-range attraction and long-range repulsion. The similarity of pH(c) and pH(phi) was explained by the effect of salt on protein binding, and consequently on the number of bound proteins relative to that required for charge neutralization of the complex, a requirement for phase separation. Expansion of the coacervation regime with chitosan, a polycation with charge spacing similar to that of PDADMAC, could be due to either the charge mobility or chain stiffness of the former. The pH(phi) versus I phase boundary for PDADMAC correctly predicted entrance into and egress from the coacervation region by addition of either salt or water. The ability to induce or suppress coacervation via protein/polyelectrolyte stoichiometry r was found to be consistent with the proposed model. The results indicate that the conjoint effects of I, r, and pH on coacervation could be represented by a three-dimensional phase boundary.