Dispersion equation and polarizability of bovine serum albumin from measurements of refractive indices

Refractive indices of bovine serum albumin solutions in saline and in 2-chloro ethanol are measured for the spectral region 1770–10000 A by a reflectance method. A procedure for the determination of a dispersion formula for binary mixtures is developed and applied. The electronic polarizability of bovine serum albumin is determined and is found to be almost independent of the solvent and concentration. Hence it follows that the electronic polarizability of bovine serum albumin is almost independent of the molecular environment.