Structural behaviour differences in low methoxy pectin solutions in the presence of divalent cations (Ca 2+ and Zn 2+ ): a process driven by the binding mechanism of the cation with the galacturonate unit

International audience; In this paper, we compare the interactions between low methoxy pectin (LMP) and either Ca2+ or Zn2+ in semi-dilute solutions. Intrinsic viscosity and turbidity measurements reveal that pectin-calcium solutions are more viscous, but yet less turbid, than pectin-zinc ones. To get a molecular understanding on the origin of this rather unexpected behavior, we further performed isothermal titration calorimetry, small angle neutron scattering experiments, as well as molecular dynamics simulations. Our results suggest that calcium cations induce the formation of a more homogeneous network of pectin than zinc cations do. The molecular dynamics simulations indicate that this …