Structural Transition in the Micellar Assembly: A Fluorescence Study

Structural transition can be induced in charged micelles by increasing the ionic strength of the medium. Thus, spherical micelles of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) that exist in water at concentrations higher than the critical micelle concentration assume an elongated rod-like structure in the presence of an increased electrolyte concentration. This is known as sphere-to-rod transition. In this paper, we characterize the change in organization and dynamics that is accompanied by the salt-induced sphere-to-rod transition in SDS micelles using wavelength-selective fluorescence and other steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence parameters. Since the change in micelle organization during such structural transition may not be limited to one region of the micelle, we have selectively introduced fluorophores in two distinct regions of the micelle. We used two probes, N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)-1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (NBD-PE) and 25-N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)-methyl]amino]-27-norcholesterol (NBD-cholesterol), for monitoring the two regions of the micelle. NBD-PE monitors the interfacial region of the micellar assembly, while NBD-cholesterol acts as a reporter for the deeper regions of the micellar interior. Our results show that wavelength-selective fluorescence, in combination with other fluorescence parameters, offers a powerful way to monitor structural transitions induced in charged micelles. These results could be significant to changes in membrane morphology observed under certain physiological conditions.