Radiolabeled AOT for studies of the partitioning of the surfactant during protein extraction by means of reverse micellar two-phase systems

Knowledge about the distribution of surfactants between aqueous and reverse micellar phases as well as the association of surfactants with proteins are of major importance for assessing the practical feasibility of protein extraction by means of reverse micellar systems. The question of the fate of the surfactant has been addressed for the classical reverse micellar system based on brine/AOT/issoctane. For this purpose, AOT (Aerosol OT, di-2-ethyl-1-hexyl sulfosuccinate) was synthesized in the presence of sulfite radioactively labeled with the isotope³⁵S. The synthesis of [³⁵S]AOT as well as its use for tracer analysis in protein extraction are discussed.