Spontaneous vesicle formation and vesicle-tubular microstructure transition in aqueous solution of a poly-tailed cationic and anionic surfactants mixture

Spontaneous vesicle formation has been observed in aqueous mixtures of tri-(N-dodecyldimethylhydroxypropylammonium chloride) phosphate (PTA) and bis-(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (Aerosol OT), which is supported by negative-staining TEM and dynamic light scattering. The range of vesicle formation in the PTA/AOT mixtures is wide and monodisperse vesicles are obtained. The vesicle diameter increases with the total surfactant concentration. Tubular microstructures, vesicle fusion, and vesicle-tubular microstructure transition have been also observed by negative-staining TEM. The vesicle formation mechanism is discussed from the viewpoint of molecular geometry, conformation, and the interaction between surfactant molecules.     

盐引发阴离子/非离子表面活性剂复配体系中囊泡自发形成

在无盐时, 阴离子表面活性剂十二烷基苯磺酸钠(SDBS)与非离子表面活性剂壬基酚聚氧乙烯(10)醚(TX-100)的复配体系中只有混合胶束存在, 而盐的加入即可以引发体系中囊泡的自发形成, 这使得囊泡的形成变得更加简单. 引发机理可以归因于盐对离子表面活性剂的极性头双电层的压缩作用, 减少了极性头的面积, 加上非离子表面活性剂的参与使得堆积参数P增加, 导致了半径更大的聚集体的形成. 制作了SDBS/TX-100/盐水拟三元相图, 通过目测和表面张力的变化确定了囊泡形成的带状区域, 并用负染色电镜(TEM)对囊泡进行了表征, 同时测定了盐度以及相同盐度下表面活性剂浓度对囊泡粒径的影响, 发现囊泡的粒径随着盐度的增加而增加, 而在同一盐度下, 囊泡的粒径基本不受表面活性剂浓度的影响.     

Kinetics of vesicle formation

 The kinetics of vesicle formation from a hydrotrope (sodium xylenesulfonate) solution of a surfactant (Laureth 4) is studied by the use of a stopped-flow apparatus combined with a dynamic light scattering device to determine vesicle size in the system. The hydrotrope system studied presents a system with a high surfactant solubilization combined with vesicle formation simply by dilution with water. The kinetic results show a single exponential decay time. The kinetic analysis indicates that the vesicles are formed from a molecular solution which resulted from the shear in the stopped-flow device and grow by monomeric association. Received: 1 October 1996 Accepted: 22 November 1996     

Solubilization mechanism of vesicles by surfactants: effect of hydrophobicity

Simulations based on dissipative particle dynamics are performed to investigate the solubilization mechanism of vesicles by surfactants. Surfactants tend to partition themselves between vesicle and the bulk solution. It is found that only surfactants with suitable hydrophobicity are able to solubilize vesicles by forming small mixed micelles. Surfactants with inadequate hydrophobicity tend to stay in the bulk solution and only a few of them enter into the vesicle. Consequently, the vesicle structure remains intact for all surfactant concentrations studied. On the contrary, surfactants with excessive hydrophobicity are inclined to incorporate with the vesicle and thus the vesicle size continues to grow as the surfactant concentration increases. Instead of forming discrete mixed micelles, lipid and surfactant are associated into large aggregates taking the shapes of cylinders, donuts, bilayers, etc. For addition of surfactant with moderate hydrophobicity, perforated vesicles are observed before the formation of mixed micelles and thus the solubilization mechanism is more intricate than the well-known three-stage hypothesis. As the apparent critical micellar concentration (φ(s,v)(a,CMC)) is attained, pure surfactant micelles form and the vesicle deforms because the distribution of surfactant within the bilayer is no longer uniform. When the surfactant concentration reaches φ(s,v)(p), the vesicle perforates. The extent of perforation grows with increasing surfactant concentration. The solubilization process begins at φ(s,v) (sol), and lipids leave the vesicle and join surfactant micelles to form mixed micelles. Eventually, total collapse of the vesicle is observed. In general, one has φ(s,v)(a,CMC)≤φ(s,v)(p)≤φ(s,v)(sol).     

Salt-induced vesicle formation from single anionic surfactant SDBS and its mixture with LSB in aqueous solution

Vesicles can be formed spontaneously in aqueous solution of a single anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl benzenesulfonate (SDBS) just under the inducement of salt, which makes the formation of vesicle much easier and simpler. The existence of vesicles was demonstrated by TEM image using the negative-staining method. The mechanism of the formation may be attributed to the compression of salt on the electric bilayer of the surfactant headgroups, which alters the packing parameter of the surfactant. The addition of the zwitterionic surfactant lauryl sulfonate betaine (LSB) makes the vesicles more stable, expands the range of formation and vesicle size, and reduces the polydispersity of the vesicles. The vesicle region was presented in a pseudoternary diagram of SDBS/LSB/brine. The variations of vesicle size with the salinity and mixing ratios, as well as the surfactant concentration, were determined using the dynamic light scattering method. It is found that the vesicle size is independent of the surfactant concentration but subject to the salinity and the mixing ratio of the two surfactants.     

Effects of salt and temperature on single‐chained cationic surfactant/oligodeoxynucleotide vesicle formation

Recently, we found oligodeoxynucleotide could induce single‐chained cationic surfactant to organize into vesicles. In this article, we will report the effects of NaCl and temperature on the surfactant/oligodeoxynucleotide vesicle formation. A moderate content of NaCl can facilitate vesicle formation and high content of NaCl makes vesicle degraded. The enhanced hydrophobic interaction between surfactant and oligodeoxynucleotide with NaCl plays a key role for facilitating vesicle formation. Moreover, surfactant/oligodeoxynucleotide vesicles tend to aggregate at high temperature and the change is irreversible. However, the presence of NaCl makes this change reversible. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Facilitation effect of oligonucleotide on vesicle formation from single‐chained cationic surfactant—Dependences of oligonucleotide sequence and size and surfactant structure

The interaction between DNA and surfactant has both biological and technological significances. Recently, we reported for the first time that oligo d(C)₂₅ can induce single‐chained cationic surfactant molecules to aggregate into vesicles. In this article, we studied systematically the formation of vesicles from traditional single‐chained cationic surfactant molecules in the presence of a series of oligonucleotides and found that the facilitation efficiency of oligonucleotide on vesicle formation depends on its size and base composition. Oligo d(T)_n cannot induce vesicle formation, whereas the other oligonucleotides can. Moreover, the oligonucleotide with a bigger size or with a hairpin structure favors vesicle formation more, and the increases in the size of the head group and/or the length of the alkyl group of surfactant decrease the facilitation efficiency of oligonucleotide. Since so far, there is very limited report about the vesicle formation in DNA/single‐chained cationic surfactant solution, this study could be expected to increase the efficiency and applicability for DNA/amphiphile system. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 434–449, 2009     

Fluid mixing in growing microscale vesicles conjugated by surfactant nanotubes

This work addresses novel means for controlled mixing and reaction initiation in biomimetic confined compartments having volume elements in the range of 10(-12) to 10(-15) L. The method is based on mixing fluids using a two-site injection scheme into growing surfactant vesicles. A solid-state injection needle is inserted into a micrometer-sized vesicle (radius 5-25 microm), and by pulling on the needle, we create a nanoscale surfactant channel connecting injection needle and the vesicle. Injection of a solvent A from the needle into the nanotube results in the formation of a growing daughter vesicle at the tip of the needle in which mixing takes place. The growth of the daughter vesicle requires a flow of surfactants in the nanotube that generates a flow of solvent B inside the nanotube which is counterdirectional to the pressure-injected solvent. The volume ratio psi between solvent A and B inside the mixing vesicle was analyzed and found to depend only on geometrical quantities. The majority of fluid injected to the growing daughter vesicle comes from the pressure-based injection, and for a micrometer-sized vesicle it dominates. For the formation of one daughter vesicle (conjugated with a 100-nm radius tube) expanded from 1 to 200 microm in radius, the mixing ratios cover almost 3 orders of magnitude. We show that the system can be expanded to linear strings of nanotube-conjugated vesicles that display exponential dilution. Mixing ratios spanning 6 orders of magnitude were obtained in strings of three nanotube-conjugated micrometer-sized daughter vesicles.     

寡聚核苷酸/单链阳离子表面活性剂囊泡与沉淀共存(英文)

DNA(包括寡聚核苷酸)和阳离子表面活性剂可形成难溶复合物.本文通过浊度测试和透射电子显微镜观察,发现单链阳离子表面活性剂可以诱使寡聚核苷酸/单链阳离子表面活性剂沉淀转变成为寡聚核苷酸/单链阳离子表面活性剂囊泡,且寡聚核苷酸/单链阳离子表面活性剂囊泡可以与寡聚核苷酸/单链阳离子表面活性剂沉淀共存.在寡聚核苷酸/单链阳离子表面活性剂沉淀向囊泡的转变过程中,表面活性剂和沉淀之间的疏水作用力发挥了重要作用.此外,当体系温度达到寡聚核苷酸开始融解的温度后,寡聚核苷酸/单链阳离子表面活性剂体系更容易形成囊泡.因此,寡聚核苷酸的链越伸展,越易于寡聚核苷酸/单链阳离子表面活性剂囊泡的生成.据我们所知,有关寡聚核苷酸/阳离子表面活性剂囊泡的报道尚不多见.因此,考虑到DNA(包括寡聚核苷酸)/两亲分子体系在医学、生物学、药学和化学中的重要性,该研究应该有助于我们进一步了解该体系并对其进行更合理有效的应用.     

Salinity Controlled Vesicle Formation and Growth in Aqueous Mixture of Aerosol OT/Triton X‐100

Mixed vesicles can be formed spontaneously from aqueous mixture of the double‐tailed anionic surfactant sodium bis(2‐ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT) and the nonionic surfactant octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol (Triton X‐100) under the inducement of salt, the formation mechanism of which should be attributed to the compression of salt on the electric bilayers of the head groups. The stability and the polydispersity of the vesicles are superior to single‐component AOT vesicles, which can be proved by the TEM image and visual observation. The vesicle region was presented in a pseudo‐ternary diagram of AOT/TX‐100/brine. The size of the vesicle was measured using dynamic light scattering. It is found that the vesicle size increases with the salinity but decreases with the content of TX‐100 in the mixture at the same salinity. Especially, the vesicle size is independent of the surfactant concentration at fixed salinity.     

Preparation of crystalline gold nanoparticles at the surface of mixed phosphatidylcholine-ionic surfactant vesicles

The formation of gold nanoparticles and the crystal growth at the surface of mixed phosphatidylcholine (PC)-ionic surfactant vesicles was investigated. The PC-bilayer surface was negatively charged by incorporating sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and positively charged by adding hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAB). The mass ratio phosphatidylcholine:surfactant was fixed in both cases at 1:1. The gold nanoparticle formation was studied by using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) combined with dynamic light scattering (DLS) and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. TEM micrographs confirm that the particle formation occurs on the vesicle surface. However, the reduction process depends on the ionic surfactant incorporated into the vesicles, the vesicle size distribution, as well as the temperature used for the reduction process. Thereby, it becomes possible to control the crystal growth of the individual spherical gold nanoparticles in a characteristic way. Red colored colloidal dispersions consisting of monodisperse spherical nanoparticles with an average particle size between 2 and 8 nm (determined by dynamic light scattering) can be obtained by using a monodisperse SDS-modified vesicle phase. When the temperature is increased to 45 degrees C, a crystallization in rod-like or triangular structures is observed. In the CTAB-based template phase in general larger gold particles of about 35 nm are formed. In similarity to the anionic vesicles a temperature increase leads to the crystallization in triangular structures.     

Vesicle--biopolymer gels: networks of surfactant vesicles connected by associating biopolymers

The effect of adding an associating biopolymer to surfactant vesicles and micelles is studied using rheology and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). The associating polymer is obtained by randomly tethering hydrophobic alkyl chains to the backbone of the polysaccharide, chitosan. Adding this polymer to surfactant vesicles results in a gel; that is, the sample transforms from a Newtonian liquid to an elastic solid having frequency-independent dynamic shear moduli. SANS shows that the vesicles remain intact within the gel. The results suggest a gel structure in which the vesicles are connected by polymer chains into a three-dimensional network. Vesicle-polymer binding is expected to occur via the insertion of polymer hydrophobes into the vesicle bilayer. Each vesicle thus acts as a multifunctional junction in the network structure. Significantly, gel formation does not occur with the native chitosan that has no hydrophobes. Moreover, adding the hydrophobically modified chitosan to a viscous sample containing wormlike micelles increases the viscosity further but does not give rise to a gel-like response. Thus, the formation of a robust gel network requires both the presence of hydrophobes on the polymer and vesicles in solution.     

Supramolecular vesicle: triggered by formation of pseudorotaxane between cucurbit[6]uril and surfactant

Supramolecular vesicles are triggered by the inclusion complex formed by CB[6] and surfactant. The combination of CB[6] with the surfactant plays a key role in the vesicle formation.     

Effect of equimolar salt to decyltrimethylammonium decyl sulfate on vesicle formation and surface adsorption

The aqueous solution of mixture of sodium decyl sulfate (SDeS) and decyltrimethylammonium bromide (DeTAB) has been found to form equilibrium multilamellar vesicles (MLV) spontaneously. We measured the surface tension of the aqueous solution of 1:1 mixture of SDeS and DeTAB as a function of temperature T at various molalities m under atmospheric pressure. The surface density, the entropy of adsorption and the entropy of vesicle formation are evaluated and compared with those of the decyltrimethylammonium decyl sulfate (DeTADeS) aqueous solution system to investigate the role of small counterions in the mechanism of equilibrium vesicle formation. The saturated surface density Gamma (H,C ) vs T curve of the SDeS/DeTAB system sits below that of the DeTADeS system. Therefore, sodium and bromide ions are negatively adsorbed and nevertheless, they neutralize the electric charge of the decyl sulfate ion DeS(-) and the decyltrimethylammonium ion DeTA(+) to some extent to weaken the electrostatic attraction between the polar head groups in the adsorbed film. The net surfactant concentration required for vesicle formation was larger in the SDeS/DeTAB system. Hence, the electrostatic attraction between the polar head groups of the surfactant ions which is one of the major driving forces for vesicle formation is weakened by the presence of the counterions Na(+) and Br(-). Small but distinct changes in the surface density and the entropies of MLV formation of the SDeS/DeTAB system from those of the DeTADeS system were also found.     

类水滑石诱导囊泡的自发形成

报道了一种新的囊泡合成方法——荷电固体纳米颗粒诱导囊泡的自发形成. 研究发现, 将5.0 g/L带结构正电荷的Mg₃Al类水滑石(HTlc)溶胶和0.02 mol/L由两性表面活性剂十二烷基甜菜碱(C₁₂BE)和阴离子表面活性剂双(2-乙基己基)琥珀酸磺酸钠(AOT)组成的溶液(C₁₂BE与AOT物质的量比为3∶2)混合, 当HTlc溶胶与表面活性剂溶液的体积比在1∶9～4∶6范围内, 在HTlc纳米颗粒的诱导下可自发形成囊泡, 并获得稳定的HTlc-囊泡复合分散体系.     

Dynamic covalent assembly of stimuli responsive vesicle gels

We describe the reversible formation of stimuli-responsive vesicle gels from polymerised dynamic covalent surfactants, by simple mixing of soluble surfactant precursors in water under ambient conditions.     

Interaction between the conjugated polyelectrolyte poly{1,4-phenylene[9,9-bis(4-phenoxybutylsulfonate)]fluorene-2,7-diyl} copolymer and the lecithin mimic 1-O-(l-Arginyl)-2,3-O-dilauroyl-sn-glycerol in aqueous solution

In this paper, the interaction between the water-soluble conjugated polyelectrolyte poly{1,4-phenylene[9,9-bis(4-phenoxybutylsulfonate)]fluorene-2,7-diyl} copolymer and the amino acid glyceride conjugate 1-O-(L-arginyl)-2,3-O-dilauroyl-sn-glycerol dichlorohydrate (a mimic for the phospholipid lecithin) has been studied in aqueous solution by electronic spectroscopy (absorption and fluorescence) and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). A significant increase in the polymer fluorescence and blue shift in its emission are observed on association with the surfactant. This is suggested to be due to breakup of polymer aggregates. In addition, the spectroscopic and photophysical data suggest this is followed by the vesicle to ribbon transition characteristic of this surfactant, leading to incorporation of single chains of the polymer within mixed polymer-surfactant aggregates. Support for this comes from preliminary SANS measurements, from which evidence for polymer dissolution and formation of two-dimensional structures has been obtained.     

温度调控表面活性剂溶液有序结构转变研究新进展

总结了近年来在温度调控表面活性剂有序结构转变研究方面的新进展. 主要介绍了囊泡的相转变, 温度诱导的胶束/囊泡转化, 离子表面活性剂胶束体系中的浊点现象, 温度控制的囊泡聚集以及温度诱导液晶相的形成与转化等五个方面的相关工作.     

Research on the vesicle-micelle transition by 1H NMR relaxation measurement

We have investigated how the dynamics of surfactant molecules changes with the vesicle-micelle transition by (1)H NMR relaxation studies on the sodium decyl sulfate (SDeS)-decyltrimethylammonium bromide (DeTAB)-deuterium oxide system. The study has been planned with reference to the phase diagram of the SDeS-DeTAB-water system deduced from thermodynamic analysis of the surface tension data. The spin-lattice relaxation time (T(1)) and the spin-spin relaxation time (T(2)) are measured at 90 and 400 MHz at various total molalities, m, and compositions, X(2), of the surfactants. The data were analyzed according to the "two-step" model developed by Wennerstr?m et al. and molecular dynamics of the surfactant is discussed from the viewpoint of correlation time tau(f) associated with the local fast motion of the surfactant molecule, correlation time tau(s) associated with the slow overall motions of the aggregate and surfactant molecules within it, and local order parameter S. We find tau(s) of vesicles is an order of magnitude larger than that of micelles signifying that the tumbling of vesicle particles and surfactant diffusion over the vesicle are much slower than those for micelle. Tau(f) and S for vesicles are also larger than those for micelles. Molecular environments of the surfactant are also discussed from the dependence of the chemical shifts on m at constant X(2) or from that on X(2) at constant m. When the chemical shifts in vesicle and micelle are compared at constant m, the chemical shifts in vesicle are displaced to a lower magnetic field than those in micelle, which implies that the surfactant molecules are arranged more closely to each other in the vesicle than in the micelle.     

Temperature-sensitive aqueous surfactant two-phase system formation in cationic-anionic surfactant systems

Temperature-induced aqueous surfactant two-phase system (T-ASTP), which was found to be of generic importance, was investigated in a series of conventional mixed cationic-anionic surfactant systems. On the basis of the investigations of turbidity, dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, and fluorescence resonance energy transfer, the formation of T-ASTP can be attributed to temperature-induced vesicle aggregation. Aggregated vesicles existed in the upper part, while the separated vesicles existed in the lower part. The phase separation temperature can be regulated by varying the surfactant composition or adding additives, such as d-sorbitol, urea, or NaBr. The hydrophobic interaction and cooperative effect between cationic and anionic surfactants played a significant role in the formation of T-ASTP.