Temperature-induced vesicle aggregation in catanionic surfactant systems: the effects of the headgroup and counterion

The peculiar nature of temperature-induced vesicle aggregation (TIVA) in some catanionic surfactant systems is systematically investigated. On the basis of a general analysis of the intervesicular interactions, the main driving force for this phenomenon is considered to be the intervesicular hydrophobic interaction among the exposed hydrophobic part of the surfactant headgroups. The addition of an oppositely charged hydrophobic salt to the catanionic vesicle systems is also found to promote the occurrence of TIVA. In fact, TIVA can be induced in ordinary catanionic vesicle systems by the addition of an oppositely charged hydrophobic counterion.     

Cationic Porphyrin–Anionic Surfactant Mixtures for the Promotion of Self‐Organized 1:4 Ion Pairs in Water with Strong Aggregation Properties

We performed a systematic study on the spectroscopic and aggregation properties of stoichiometric mixtures (1:4) of the tetracationic meso‐tetrakis(4‐N‐methylpyridinium)porphyrin (H₂TMPyP) and three sodium alkylsulfate surfactants (tetradecyl, hexadecyl, and octadecylsulfate) in an aqueous solution. The objective was to build a supramolecular aggregate, which would favor the internalization of tetracationic porphyrins in cells without chemical modification of the structure of the porphyrin. We show that stoichiometric H₂TMPyP/alkylsulfate (1:4) mixtures lead to the formation of large hollow spherical aggregates (60–160 nm). The TEM images show that the membrane of these aggregates are composed of smaller aggregates, which are probably rod‐like micelles. These rod‐like micelles have a hydrophobic core composed of the alkyl chains of the alkylsulfate surfactant, whereas the charged surface corresponds to the tetracationic porphyrins.     

Interactions of cationic gemini surfactants with hydrophobically modified poly(acrylamides) studied by fluorescence and microcalorimetry

Steady-state fluorescence, time-resolved fluorescence quenching, and isothermal titration microcalorimetry have been used to study the interactions of cationic gemini surfactants alkanediyl-alpha,omega-bis(dodecyldimethylammonium bromide) (C(12)C(S)C(12)Br(2), S = 3, 6, and 12) with hydrophobically modified poly(acrylamide) (HMPAM) and unmodified poly(acrylamide) (PAM). Without addition of gemini surfactant, 0.2 wt % HMPAMs except PAM have already self-aggregated into hydrophobic aggregates. Different from single-chain surfactants, C(12)C(S)C(12)Br(2) have stronger interactions with HMPAMs to form surfactant/polymer aggregates, even with PAM. Addition of C(12)C(S)C(12)Br(2) may cause the disruption of HMPAM hydrophobic aggregates and the formation of mixed micelles. It is found that HMPAMs generate lower micropolarity of mixed micelles, larger values of enthalpy of interaction (DeltaH(ps)), and nearly constant values of Gibbs free energy of interaction (DeltaG(ps)). On the other hand, C(12)C(S)C(12)Br(2) with longer spacer brings out slightly lower micropolarity of mixed micelles, owing to the lower electrostatic repulsion between surfactant headgroups. Especially for C(12)C(12)C(12)Br(2), the values of DeltaH(ps) are much more endothermic and the values of DeltaG(ps) are much less negative. The weaker interactions of C(12)C(12)C(12)Br(2) with HMPAMs arise from the marked reduction of attraction between surfactant headgroups and polymer hydrophilic groups induced by its longer spacer.     

Thermally cleavable surfactants based on furan-maleimide Diels-Alder adducts

Two new surfactant molecules are reported that contain thermally labile Diels-Alder adducts connecting the hydrophilic and hydrophobic sections of each molecule. The two surfactants possess identical hydrophobic dodecyl tail segments but have phenol and carboxylic acid hydrophilic headgroups, respectively. Deprotonation with potassium hydroxide affords the formation of water-soluble surfactants. Room temperature aqueous solutions of both surfactants exhibit classical surface-active agent behavior similar to common analagous alkylaryl surfactant molecules. Critical micelle concentrations have been determined for each surfactant through dynamic surface tension and dye solubilization techniques. Small-angle neutron scattering measurements of the aqueous surfactant solutions indicate the presence of spherical micelles with radii of 16.5 angstroms for the carboxylate and 18.8 angstroms for the phenolate. When these surfactants are exposed to elevated temperatures (>50 degrees C), the retro Diels-Alder reaction occurs, yielding hydrophilic and hydrophobic fragments. Aqueous solutions of each surfactant subsequently exhibit a loss of all surface-active behavior and the micellar aggregates are no longer detectable.     

Structure and composition of cationic-nonionic surfactant mixed adsorbed layers on mica

The composition and morphology of mixed adsorbed layers comprising one of several poly(oxyethylene) alkyl ether nonionic surfactants, C(i)E(j), and two cationic surfactants-dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) and tetradecyltriethylammonium bromide (TTeAB)-at the mica/solution interface have been studied using depletion adsorption and atomic force microscopy. The nonionic surfactants do not themselves adsorb onto mica, but can coadsorb with a cationic surfactant. The extent of their hydrophobic association with the adsorbed cationic surfactant depends on alkyl chain length, while the adsorbed layer morphologies are sensitive to the number of ethoxy groups. Nonionic surfactants with headgroups containing less than eight ethylene oxide units decrease the adsorbed aggregate curvature, gradually transforming globular TTeAB or cylindrical DTAB adsorbed aggregates into a rod, mesh, or bilayer structure. Those with larger headgroups favor globular aggregates. The mechanism by which the nonionic surfactant modifies the adsorbed morphology is the formation of defects in the form of cylinder end-caps or branch-points, leading to adsorbed layer compositions that differ from ideal mixing predictions. All mixed adsorbed films become saturated with the nonionic component when the capacity of the aqueous side of the adsorbed layer is reached.     

动态光散射研究盐对Gemini表面活性剂网状聚集体的影响

以动态光散射为主要手段研究了盐对羧酸盐Gemini表面活性剂O,O′-双(2-月桂酸钠)-p-二苯氧(记为C12φ2C12)自组织的影响.结果表明盐的加入很容易使C12φ2C12的网状聚集体转变为小(流体力学半径Rh,app约几纳米)和大(Rh,app100 nm)两种尺寸共存的聚集体,1,6-二苯基-1,3,5-己三烯(DPH)探针增溶实验证实小尺寸聚集体为核-壳结构的似球胶束,流变学测量说明大尺寸聚集体可能已经是线型的核-壳胶束.这种行为被归结为初始的网状聚集体不稳定,添加的反离子与C12φ2C12头基结合破坏了网状结构的亲水亲油平衡,促使了它们的转变.盐效应规律表现为MgCl2NaCl、Bu4NBrMe4NBrEt4NBrPr4NBr,这里Bu4NBr不遵循上述静电力顺序的原因是它提供了携带的丁基与C12φ2C12烷烃链疏水相互作用的附加力.     

Synthesis and properties of amphiphilic star polysulfides

We here present the synthesis and characterisation of linear and star-shaped amphiphilic block copolymers based on hydrophobic polysulfides (poly(propylene sulfide), PPS) and hydrophilic polyethers (poly(ethylene glycol), PEG). We also discuss the proof of the principle of their responsiveness to oxidising conditions. In a water environment, these polymers aggregate in the form of sub-micron carriers that, due to the sensitivity to oxidation reactions typical of PPS, can be used for responsive drug delivery. In this first study we have focused on the study of large aggregates, which do not apparently show dramatic differences in behaviour when polymer chains with different degrees of branching are studied.     

Atomistic structure of a micelle in solution determined by wide Q-range neutron diffraction

The accepted picture of the structure of a micelle in solution arises from the idea that the surfactant molecules self-assemble into a spherical aggregate, driven by the conflicting affinity of their head and tail groups with the solvent. It is also assumed that the micelle's size and shape can be explained by simple arguments involving volumetric packing parameters and electrostatic interactions. By using wide Q-range neutron diffraction measurements of H/D isotopically substituted solutions of decyltrimethylammonimum bromide (C(10)TAB) surfactants, we are able to determine the complete, atomistic structure of a micelle and its surroundings in solution. The properties of the micelle we extract are in agreement with previous experimental studies. We find that ~45 surfactant molecules aggregate to form a spherical micelle with a radius of gyration of 14.2 ? and that the larger micelles are more ellipsoidal. The surfactant tail groups are hidden away from the solvent to form a central dry hydrophobic core. This is surrounded by a disordered corona containing the surfactant headgroups, counterions, water, and some alkyl groups from the hydrophobic tails. We find a Stern layer of 0.7 bromide counterion per surfactant molecule, in which the bromide counterions maintain their hydration shells. The atomistic resolution of this technique provides us with unprecedented detail of the physicochemical properties of the micelle in its solvent.     

Interaction between polymer and anionic/nonionic surfactants and its mechanism of enhanced oil recovery

Various experimental methods were used to investigate interaction between polymer and anionic/nonionic surfactants and mechanisms of enhanced oil recovery by anionic/nonionic surfactants in the present paper. The complex surfactant molecules are adsorbed in the mixed micelles or aggregates formed by the hydrophobic association of hydrophobic groups of polymers, making the surfactant molecules at oil-water interface reduce and the value of interfacial tension between oil and water increase. A dense spatial network structure is formed by the interaction between the mixed aggregates and hydrophobic groups of the polymer molecular chains, making the hydrodynamic volume of the aggregates and the viscosity of the polymer solution increase. Because of the formation of the mixed adsorption layer at oil and water interface by synergistic effect, ultra-low interfacial tension (～2.0?×?10^?3 mN/m) can be achieved between the novel surfactant system and the oil samples in this paper. Because of hydrophobic interaction, wettability alteration of oil-wet surface was induced by the adsorption of the surfactant system on the solid surface. Moreover, the studied surfactant system had a certain degree of spontaneous emulsification ability (D50?=?25.04?µm) and was well emulsified with crude oil after the mechanical oscillation (D50?=?4.27?µm).     

Disassembly of amyloid fibrils by premicellar and micellar aggregates of a tetrameric cationic surfactant in aqueous solution

We report a finding that not only the micelles but also the premicellar aggregates of a star-like tetrameric quaternary ammonium surfactant PATC can disassemble and clear mature β-amyloid Aβ(1-40) fibrils in aqueous solution. Different from other surfactants, PATC self-assembles into network-like aggregates below its critical micelle concentration (CMC). The strong self-assembly ability of PATC even below its CMC enables PATC to disaggregate the Aβ(1-40) fibrils far below the charge neutralization point of the Aβ(1-40) with PATC. There may be two key features of the fibril disassembly induced by the surfactant. First, the positively charged surfactant molecules bind with the negatively charged Aβ(1-40) fibrils through electrostatic interaction. Second, the self-assembly of the surfactant molecules bound onto the Aβ(1-40) fibrils disaggregate the fibrils, and the surfactant molecules form mixed aggregates with the Aβ(1-40) molecules. The result reveals a structural approach of constructing efficient disassembly agents to mature β-amyloid fibrils.     

Highly-ordered selective self-assembly of a trimeric cationic surfactant on a mica surface

Novel trimeric cationic surfactant tri(dodecyldimethylammonioacetoxy)diethyltriamine trichloride (DTAD) has been synthesized, and its self-assembly morphology on a mineral surface has been studied. From its micelle solution, highly ordered bilayer patterns are obtained on a mica surface, whereas randomly distributed bilayer patches are formed on a silica substrate. The highly ordered bilayer patterns on mica are first caused by the matching of the special structure of DTAD headgroups with the negative charge sites on mica, which leads to the specific nucleation of DTAD on the mica surface via electrostatic interaction. Furthermore, hydrophobic interaction among the DTAD hydrocarbon chains results in the formation of the bilayer structure, and intermolecular hydrogen-bonding among the DTAD headgroups promotes the directional growth of such bilayer structures.     

Effect of hydrophilic groups of Ca surfactants and hydrophobic chains of C(n)DMAO on coordinated vesicle formation

The effects of hydrophilic headgroups of Ca surfactants, calcium dodecylsulfate (Ca(DS)(2)), calcium dodecylsulfonate (Ca(DSA)(2)), and calcium laurate (CaL(2)) and hydrophobic chains of alkyldimethylamine oxide (C(n)DMAO, n = 12, 14, 16) on the formation of Ca(2+)-ligand coordinated vesicles was investigated in detail. On the basis of phase behavior studies, rheological properties and freeze-fracture transmission electron microscope (FF-TEM) images were measured. Quite different phase behaviors were observed in different surfactant systems. For a Ca surfactant with a highly polar group, Ca(DS)(2), vesicles were observed in all Ca(DS)(2)/C(n)DMAO (n = 12, 14, and 16) systems, whereas for Ca surfactant with lower polar group, Ca(DSA)(2), vesicles can form in Ca(DSA)(2)/C(n)DMAO systems of n = 14 and 16 but not for n = 12. For CaL(2), the surfactant with the least polar group, vesicles form only in the CaL(2)/C(16)DMAO system. The results demonstrate that in the systems formed by Ca surfactants and C(n)DMAO, the formation of vesicles is driven not only by interaction between Ca(2+) and the N → O groups of C(n)DMAO but also by electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. Vesicles prefer to form in Ca surfactants with highly polar headgroups and C(n)DMAO with long chain length.     

Rheological Study of Interactions between Anionic Guar and Oppositely Charged Surfactant

We have studied the interactions between anionic carboxymethyl guar (CMG) and oppositely charged surfactant: dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB), tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTAB), cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), and gemini surfactants (16-4-16), using rheological measurements. In the present study, two competing forces, electrostatic interaction and hydrophobic interaction, have been identified as important factors. Various types of structure formed on the anionic CMG chains are qualitatively discussed in comparison. For example, C₁₂TAB and gemini surfactant tend to form polymer-bound aggregates, whereas the C₁₆TAB tend to form the polymer-associated architecture. Furthermore, possible mechanisms based on the experimental results to elucidate these interesting phenomena have been proposed and discussed.     

聚醚树枝体－聚丙烯酸嵌段共聚物的水溶液自组装行为

应用UV－Vis、荧光、光物理探针、动态激光光散射和透射电镜(TEM)方法研究了聚醚树枝体与聚丙烯酸两亲嵌段共聚物(Dendr,PE-PAA)在水溶液中分子自组装行为。实验结果表明通过聚醚树枝体嵌段的疏水作用,易缔合形成聚集体,具有很低(10^-6～10^-7mol·L^-1)的临界缔合浓度(cac)。透过电镜观察到聚集体具有双层膜结构的球状、单室囊泡。临界缔合浓度(cac)以及聚集体的大小对枝状体的代数(Gi)及线性体的聚合度(n)具有明显的依赖关系。     

Interaction between casein and sodium dodecyl sulfate

The interaction of the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) with 2.0 mg/ml casein was first investigated using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and fluorescence spectra. ITC results show that individual SDS molecules first bind to casein micelles by the hydrophobic interaction. The micelle-like SDS aggregate is formed on the casein chains when SDS concentration reaches the critical aggregation concentration (c1), which is far below the critical micellar concentration (cmc) of SDS in the absence of casein. With the further increase of SDS concentration to the saturate binding concentration c2, SDS molecules no longer bind to the casein chains, and free SDS micelles coexist with casein micelles bound with SDS aggregates in the system. DLS results show that the addition of SDS leads to an increase in the hydrodynamic radius of casein micelles with bound surfactant at SDS concentration higher than 4 mM, and also an increase in the casein monomer molecule (or submicelles) at SDS concentration higher than 10 mM. Fluorometric results suggest the addition of SDS leads to some changes in the binding process of hydrophobic probes to casein micelles.     

Crystallization and aggregation behaviors of calcium carbonate in the presence of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) and sodium dodecyl sulfate

An anionic surfactant interacts strongly with a polymer molecule to form a self-assembled structure, due to the attractive force of the hydrophobic association and electrostatic repulsion. In this crystallization medium, the surfactant-stabilized inorganic particles adsorbed on the polymer chains, as well as the bridging effect of polymer molecules, controlled the aggregation behavior of colloidal particles. In this presentation, the spontaneous precipitation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) was conducted from the aqueous systems containing a water-soluble polymer (poly(vinylpyrrolidone), PVP) and an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS). When the SDS concentrations were lower than the onset of interaction between PVP and SDS, the precipitated CaCO3 crystals were typically hexahedron-shaped calcite; the increasing SDS concentration caused the morphologies of CaCO3 aggregates to change from the flower-shaped calcite to hollow spherical calcite, then to solid spherical vaterite. These results indicate that the self-organized configurations of the polymer/surfactant supramolecules dominate the morphologies of CaCO3 aggregates, implying that this simple and versatile method expands the morphological investigation of the mineralization process.     

疏水缔合聚丙烯酰胺与双子表面活性剂的自组装

通过荧光光谱、动/静态激光光散射研究了疏水缔合聚丙烯酰胺(HAPAM)自组装行为及双子表面活性剂(双十四酸乙二酯双磺酸盐(DMES-14))对其的影响.实验结果表明:聚合物HAPAM在溶液中能够通过自组装形成疏水微区,表现出芘的发射光谱中第一振动峰(373nm)与第三振动峰(383nm)的荧光强度之比(I1/I3)值随聚合物浓度的增大而下降,当聚合物HAPAM浓度(CP)达到一定值后,I1/I3值不再变化;当加入表面活性剂时,HAPAM能够与双子表面活性剂在溶液中形成混合胶束,在聚合物浓度一定时,I1/I3值随表面活性剂浓度(CS)的增大急速下降,当表面活性剂浓度达到30mg·L-1时,I1/I3值趋于恒定;当表面活性剂浓度一定时,聚合物/表面活性剂二元体系中聚集体的聚集数随HAPAM浓度的增大出现先下降再增加的过程;一定量的双子表面活性剂对HAPAM分子间的缔合起促进作用,过量的双子表面活性剂对HAPAM分子间的缔合起抑制作用,使HAPAM的表观重均分子量(Mw,a)、均方根回转半径()和流体力学半径()随表面活性剂浓度增加先增大后减小,而HAPAM的/比值则随表面活性剂浓度增大出现一定程度的上升,表明HAPAM分子链段变得相对舒展.     

Multilayer vesicles and vesicle clusters formed by the fullerene-based surfactant C60(CH3)5K

The self-assembly behavior of a fullerene-based surfactant, C60(CH3)5K, in water was studied using a combination of static and dynamic light scattering, as well as transmission electron microscopy, and compared to that of the compound C60(C6H5)5K. Both fullerene surfactant systems spontaneously assemble into large vesicles consisting of closed spherical shells formed by bilayers, with critical aggregation concentrations (CAC) lower than 10(-6) g ml(-1). At low concentrations, the aggregate sizes of C60(CH3)5K (radius R approximately 26.8 nm) and C60(C6H5)5K (R approximately 17.0 nm) were found to be substantially different from each other, showing that the change of the substituents surrounding the polar cyclopentadienide head group makes it possible to control the size of the resulting aggregates. Furthermore, the C60(CH3)5K vesicles were found to exist in two qualitatively different types of aggregation with a critical reaggregation concentration (CRC) located at 3.30 x 10(-6) g ml(-1). Above the CRC, larger aggregates were observed (R approximately 37.6 nm), showing a more complex form of supramolecular aggregation, e.g., in terms of multi-bilayer vesicles and/or of clusters of bilayer vesicles.     

Synthesis of large-pore micelle-templated silico-aluminas at different alumina contents

The EPR spectra of radical surfactant probes embedded in cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and trimethylbenzene (TMB) stable water emulsions (TMB/CTAB = 13) were analyzed to provide information on the kinetics of formation of micelle-templated silicoaluminas (MTSA) at 343 K, obtained by means of silica and alumina, solved in alkaline solutions, at different Si/Al ratios. Textural (surface area, pore volume, pore size, surfactant content) and structural characterization of both as-synthesized and calcined MTSA were performed by means of nitrogen sorption isotherms, TEM, and chemical analysis. This analysis showed that TMB worked as a swelling agent of the CTAB micelles, providing large-pore homogeneous and stable MTSA at TMB/CTAB = 13 for Si/Al from infinity to 10. A demixing of the emulsion occurs at Si/Al < 10: at Si/Al = 7, a double wide-and-narrow pore structure was formed; then, at Si/Al = 5, an amorphous material was obtained. At Si/Al > or = 10, the computer-aided analysis of the EPR spectra as a function of the synthesis time indicated the distribution of the probes in two different environments: "micellar" probes inserted in the surfactant aggregates, whose mobility decreases over the synthesis time, thus reporting on the progressive modification of the surfactant aggregates structure and the solid condensation, and "interacting" probes due to probe-surfactant heads electrostatically interacting with the charged surface sites induced by alumina incorporation in the silica network. This last fraction increases its relative amount over the synthesis time, informing about the condensation and structuration of the MTSA. Without alumina, the "interacting" component is absent in the EPR spectra because TMB preferentially interacts with the surfactant headgroups by cation-pi interactions, thus preventing the interactions of these headgroups with silanols. When alumina is added, the negatively charged silicoaluminate at the surface promotes the interaction of the ammonium headgroups with the surface, and some Na+ cations also interact with TMB by cation-pi interaction and contribute to decreasing the interaction of the headgroups with TMB. Therefore, increasing alumina contents promote electrostatic interactions between the positively charged surfactant heads and the negatively charged silicoaluminate groups. The strong interaction of the surfactants with the silicoaluminate surface allows the formation of a monolayerlike structure of surfactant, which is not observed in the absence of alumina. The synthesis is slowed by increasing alumina contents due to a destructuration effect of alumina in the MTSA formation.     

Cationic Gemini surfactant at the air/water interface

The surface properties and structures of a cationic Gemini surfactant with a rigid spacer, p-xylyl-bis(dimethyloctadecylammonium bromide) ([C(18)H(37)(CH(3))(2)N(+)CH(2)C(6)H(4)CH(2)N(+)(CH(3))(2)C(18)H(37)],2Br(-), abbreviated as 18-Ar-18,2Br(-1)), at the air/water interface were investigated. It is found that the surface pressure-molecular area isotherms observed at different temperatures do not exhibit a plateau region but display an unusual "kink" before collapse. The range of the corresponding minimum compressibility and maximum compressibility modulus indicates that the monolayer is in the liquid-expanded state. The monolayers were transferred onto mica and quartz plates by the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique. The structures of monolayers at various surface pressures were studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and UV-vis spectroscopy, respectively. AFM measurements show that at lower surface pressures, unlike the structures of complex or hybrid films formed by Gemini amphiphiles with DNA, dye, or inorganic materials or the Langmuir film formed by the nonionic Gemini surfactant, in this case network-like labyrinthine interconnected ridges are formed. The formation of the structures can be interpreted in terms of the spinodal decomposition mechanism. With the increase of the surface pressure up to 35 mN/m, surface micelles dispersed in the network-like ridges gradually appear which might be caused by both the spinodal decomposition and dewetting. The UV-vis adsorption shows that over the whole range of surface pressures, the molecules form a J-aggregate in LB films, which implies that the spacers construct a pi-pi aromatic stacking. This pi-pi interaction between spacers and the van der Waals interaction between hydrophobic chains lead to the formation of both networks and micelles. The labyrinthine interconnected ridges are formed first because of the rapid evaporation of solvent during the spreading processes; with increasing surface pressure, some of the alkyl chains reorient from tilting to vertical, forming surface micelles dispersed in the network-like ridges due to the strong interaction among film molecules.