| chaotropism | The property of certain substances, usually ions (e.g., SCN-, ClO4-, guanidinium), to disrupt the structure of water and thereby promote the solubility of nonpolar substances in polar solvents (e.g., water), the unfolding of proteins, the elution from or movement through a chromatographic medium of an otherwise tightly bound substance, etc. Origin: G. Chaos, disorder, confusion, + trope, a turning (05 Mar 2000) |
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