Amidine Latex Beads, 4% w/v, 0.02 μm

Microspheres (also called latex beads or latex particles) are spherical particles in the colloidal size range that are formed from an amorphous polymer such as polystyrene. Because of the way that the polystyrene chains arrange themselves in the bead, the surface is very hydrophobic in character, making these ideal materials for the adsorption of materials such as proteins.

This positively-charged hydrophobic amidine latex is particularly suited for the preparation of latex intermediates. The only surface functional group present on the particle is amidine, which is not sensitive to the aggregating effects of polyvalent cations. These particles are sensitive to negatively charged contaminants or multivalent anions. The amidine latexes should be used in low to neutral pH environments. The amidine group is a base and with a pK ∼10-11.