A 13C-n.m.r. study of the binding of ytterbium(III) to chondroitin sulphate and chondroitin.

13C-N.m.r. spectra of chondroitin 4- and 6-sulphates, chondroitin, beta-D-glucuronate, and beta-D-glucose 6-sulphate were measured in the presence of ytterbium(III) in deuterium oxide. The structure of the ytterbium-polysaccharide compounds in solution was found to be similar to that reported for calcium chondroitin 4-sulphate in a stretched film. In the glucuronate complex, Yb(III) coordinates to the carboxylate group. For beta-D-glucose 6-sulphate, the ytterbium-induced shifts are too small to allow the structure to be determined.