Distribution of the methyl radical adduct of N‐benzylidene‐1‐diethoxyphosphoryl‐1‐methylethylamine N‐oxide‐type nitrones in water–sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles: an electron paramagnetic resonance spin trapping study

The behavior of the methyl radical adduct of six β‐phosphorylated nitrones in the N‐benzylidene‐1‐diethoxyphosphoryl‐1‐methylethylamine N‐oxide series in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles was followed by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Except when the highly hydrophilic trap 4‐PyOPN (2) was used, all the adducts were found to partition significantly between micelles and the bulk aqueous phase. The average correlation time τ of the exchange of spin adducts between SDS micelles and water was found to be in the range 5 × 10^?8—4 × 10^?7 s, which is in the region of the life time of an SDS monomer in the micelle structure. In each case, the adduct affinity for the micelles has been quantified by evaluating its micelle–water distribution coefficient K_d. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.