Electrical conductivity of a docusate sodium coacervate system

The conductivity of three xanthines (caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline) and three sugars (glucose, sucrose, and glucose-6-phosphate) was measured as part of a docusate coacervate system. The conductivity of the coacervate phase was always lower than the equilibrium phase. Conductivity of xanthines showed that caffeine had the highest conductivity, followed by theobromine and theophylline. At high concentrations, these values fell and the highest conductivity was seen in samples containing theobromine, caffeine, and theophylline. For sugars at high concentrations, the lowest values of conductivity were seen in sucrose samples. Saturated theophylline samples exhibited an increased volume in the coacervate phase volume. These findings are discussed with reference to various clinical parallels and thus supply evidence that coacervates can provide a useful model for human cytoplasm.