Free-energy analysis of solubilization in micelle

A statistical-mechanical treatment of the solubilization in micelle is presented in combination with molecular simulation. The micellar solution is viewed as an inhomogeneous and partially finite, mixed solvent system, and the method of energy representation is employed to evaluate the free-energy change for insertion of a solute into the micelle inside with a realistic set of potential functions. Methane, benzene, and ethylbenzene are adopted as model hydrophobic solutes to analyze the solubilization in sodium dodecyl sulfate micelle. It is shown that these solutes are more favorably located within the micelle than in bulk water and that the affinity to the micelle inside is stronger for benzene and ethylbenzene than for methane. The micellar system is then divided into the hydrophobic core, the head-group region in contact with water, and the aqueous region outside the micelle to assess the relative importance of each region in the solubilization. In support of the pseudophase model, the aqueous region is found to be unimportant to determine the extent of solubilization. The contribution from the hydrophobic-core region is shown to be dominant for benzene and ethylbenzene, while an appreciable contribution from the head-group region is observed for methane. The methodology presented is not restricted to the binding of a molecule to micelle, and will be useful in treating the binding to such nanoscale structures as protein and membrane.     

Determination of antimony in waste water by micelle solubilization spectrophotometry

A simple, sensitive and selective micelle solubilization spectro-photometric method is described for the determination of micro amounts of antimony(III) in waste water with 2-(3,5-dibromo-2-pyri-dylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol (3,5-dibromo-PADAP) as colour reagent and emulsifier OP as solubilizing and sensitizing agent. In 0.15M HCl, antimony forms a blue-green ternary complex with the above-mentioned reagents. The complex exhibits maximum absorption at 630nm, and the value of the apparent molar absorption coefficient is found to be 5.2 × 10⁴1 mol^–1 cm^–1. The complex is stable up to 7 days at room temperature. The system obeys Beer's Law in the range 0–25 g Sb(III) per 10 ml. Most metal ions do not interfere with the determination of antimony.     

分子动力学模拟研究荧光分子芘在磺基甜菜碱胶束中的增溶

采用分子动力学模拟研究了荧光分子芘在磺基甜菜碱两性表面活性剂聚集体中的增溶现象．结果表明,芘分子自发地自溶液中增溶进入胶束疏水内核的栅栏层区域．当胶束溶液中芘分子的局部浓度增大时,两个芘分子可以同时增溶进胶束的栅栏层区域,此时两个芘分子形成π-π共轭堆积的激发态络合物．但是由于荧光分子之间的弱兀．兀相互作用,激发态络合物在胶束中是不稳定的,表现为两个芘分子的多次结合和分离．模拟表明,分子动力学方法可以在分子水平上研究荧光探针分子在表面活性剂胶束中的增溶位点,解释荧光分子在胶束中的动力学现象．     

Thermodynamic consideration of the mixed micelle of surfactants

In conformity with the conclusion obtained previously, the mixed micelle formation of surfactants was treated thermodynamically as the appearance of a macroscopic bulk phase with the aid of the excess thermodynamic quantities similar to those used for the adsorbed film. The composition of surfactant in the mixed micelle and the thermodynamic quantities of micelle formation were found to be evaluated by applying the thermodynamic equations derived. These equations were extended so as to be applicable to any kind of surfactant mixture. It was shown that the critical micelle concentration vs. composition of surfactant curves form a diagram analogous to the phase diagram of binary mixture. Applying the equation to the published data on typical surfactant systems, this thermodynamic approach was proved to be useful to clarify the miscibility of surfactants in the micellar state.     

Energetics of sodium dodecylsulfate-dodecyldimethylamine oxide mixed micelle formation

Enthalpies of dilution and osmotic coefficients of the sodium dodecyl-sulfate (NaDS)-dodecyldimethylamine oxide (DDAO) mixtures in water have been measured at 25 and 37°C, respectively. From the enthalpies of dilution the apparent molar relative enthalpies L were calculated. The change of the L vs. total molality m_t profiles with the mole fraction reflects the variation of the ionic character of the mixed micelles. From the osmotic coefficients the nonideal free energy G ₂ ⁿⁱ were calculated. By combining G ₂ ⁿⁱ with the partial molar relative enthalpies, the nonideal entropies TS ₂ ⁿⁱ were determined. At a given mole fraction, G ₂ ⁿⁱ and TS ₂ ⁿⁱ values are decreasing and increasing respectively, tending to become constant at high m_t. The excess properties for the mixed micelle formation were evaluated as a function of the mixture composition at some m_t. The profiles are compared with those obtained from thermodynamics of binary liquid mixtures and the regular solution theory.     

Non-ionic and cationic micelle nanostructures as drug solubilization vehicles: spectrofluorimetric and electrochemical studies

The use of colloidal organized media, such as micelles, to solubilize tetracaine hydrochloride (TC.HCl), a local anaesthetic drug, in aqueous solution has been studied by means of fluorescence spectroscopy at 298.15 K. Because tetracaine molecule is a fluorescent probe, changes in the fluorescence emission spectra of the drug when it is solubilized by the micelles enable the study of the micelles–drug association process through the calculation of the association constants. Two kinds of micelles have been selected to solubilize the drug: non-ionic micelles and cationic micelles. Complementary conductometric experiments were also done to determine the critical aggregation concentration of the surfactants in the presence of the drug. The micelle–drug association process has been also analyzed by deconvoluting the fluorescent of the drug into several Gaussian components, each of which assigned to the solubilization of the drug within different microenvironment inside and outside the cationic and/or non-ionic micelles.     

Core‐stabilized polymeric micelle as potential drug carrier: increased solubilization of taxol

Poly(ethylene glycol‐b‐lactide) possessing a methoxy group at the poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chain end and a polymerizable methacryloyl group at the poly(lactic acid) (PLA) chain end (MeO–PEG/PLA–methacryloyl) was prepared by an anionic ring‐opening polymerization of ethylene oxide and DL ‐lactide in tandem manner initiated with a potassium 2‐methoxyethanolate, followed by end‐capping with an excess of methacrylic anhydride. The molecular weight of the obtained polymer was controlled by the initial monomer/initiator ratio, which was confirmed by the combination of gel permeation chromatography and nuclear magnetic resonance analyses. The functionality of the methacryloyl–PLA end was almost quantitative. The MeO–PEG/PLA–methacryloyl (38/35; these numbers in parentheses denote the molecular weights of PEG and PLA segments divided by 100, respectively) formed a core–shell type spherical micelle in aqueous media obtained by a dialysis technique, the cumulant diameter of which was ca. 30 nm with very low polydispersity factor. The methacryloyl group adjacent to the PLA was polymerized in the PLA core of the micelle. The polymerization proceeded thermally with radical initiator and photochemically with photo‐initiator to produce core‐polymerized nanoparticles, which was found by spectroscopic and light‐scattering techniques. Taxol‐incorporated micelles were prepared to entrap Taxol into MeO–PEG/PLA–methyacryloyl block copolymer micelles by the oil/water emulsion method. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hypericin phototoxicity induces different modes of cell death in melanoma and human skin cells

Hypericin, the major component of St. John's Wort, absorbs light in the UV and visible ranges whereupon it becomes phototoxic through the production of reactive oxygen species. Although photodynamic mechanisms (i.e. through endogenous photosensitizers) play a role in UVA phototherapy for the treatment of skin disorders such as eczema and psoriasis, photodynamic therapy employing exogenous photosensitizers are currently being used only for the treatment of certain forms of non-melanoma skin cancers and actinic keratoses. There are few reports however on its use in treating melanomas. This in vitro study analyses the phototoxic effect of UVA (400-315 nm) - activated hypericin in human pigmented and unpigmented melanomas and immortalised keratinocytes and melanocytes. We show that neither hypericin exposure nor UV irradiation alone reduces cell viability. We show that an exposure to 1 microM UVA-activated hypericin does not bring about cell death, while 3 microM activated hypericin induces a necrotic mode of cell death in pigmented melanoma cells and melanocytes and an apoptotic mode of cell death in non-pigmented melanoma cells and keratinocytes. We hypothesis that the necrotic mode of cell death in the pigmented cells is possibly related to the presence of melanin-containing melanosomes in these cells and that the hypericin-induced increase in reactive oxygen species leads to an increase in permeability of melanosomes. This would result in toxic melanin precursors (of an indolic and phenolic nature) leaking into the cytoplasm which in turn leads to cell death. Hypericin localisation in the endoplasmic reticulum in these cells shown by fluorescent microscopy, further support a disruption in cellular processing and induction of cell death. In contrast, this study shows that cells that do not contain melanosomes (non-pigmented melanoma cells and keratinocytes) die by apoptosis. Further, using a mitochondrial-specific fluorescent dye, we show that intracellular accumulation of hypericin induces a mitochondrial-associated caspase-dependent apoptotic mode of cell death. This work suggests that UVA is effective in activating hypericin and that this phototoxicity may be considered as treatment option in some cases of lentigo maligna or lentigo maligna melanoma that are too large for surgical resection.     

Mixed micelle formation and solubilization behavior toward polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons of binary and ternary cationic-nonionic surfactant mixtures

Water solubility enhancements of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), viz., naphthalene, anthracene and pyrene, by micellar solutions at 25 degrees C using two series of surfactants, each involving two cationic and one nonionic surfactant in their single as well as equimolar binary and ternary mixed states, were measured and compared. The first series was composed of three surfactants, benzylhexadecyldimethylammonium chloride (C16BzCl), hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (C16Br), and polyoxyethylene(20)mono-n-hexadecyl ether (Brij-58) with a 16-carbon (C16) hydrophobic chain; the second series consisted of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (C12Br), dodecylethyldimethylammonium bromide (C12EBr), and polyoxyethylene(4)mono-n-dodecyl ether (Brij-30) with a 12-carbon (C12) chain. Solubilization capacity has been quantified in terms of the molar solubilization ratio, the micelle-water partition coefficient, the first stepwise association constant between solubilizate monomer and vacant micelle, and the average number of solubilizate molecules per micelle, determined employing spectrophoto-, tensio-, and flourimetric techniques. Cationic surfactants exhibited lesser solubilization capacity than nonionics in each series of surfactants with higher efficiency in the C16 series compared to the C12 series. Increase in hydrophobicity of head groups of cationics by incorporation of ethyl or benzyl groups enhanced their solubilization capacity. The mixing effect of surfactants on mixed micelle formation and solubilization efficiency has been discussed in light of the regular solution approximation (RSA). Cationic-nonionic binary combinations showed better solubilization capacity than pure cationics, nonionics, or cationic-cationic mixtures, which, in general, showed increase with increased hydrophobicity of PAHs. Equimolar cationic-cationic-nonionic ternary surfactant systems showed lower solubilization efficiency than their binary cationic-nonionic counterparts but higher than cationic-cationic ones. In addition, use of RSA has been extended, with fair success, to predict partition coefficients of ternary surfactant systems using data of binary surfactants systems. Mixed surfactants may improve the performance of surfactant-enhanced remediation of soils and sediments by decreasing the applied surfactant level and thus remediation cost.     

Excess free energy,enthalpy and entropy of surfactant-surfactant mixed micelle formation

Enthalpies of dilution and osmotic coefficients of sodium decylsulfate (NaDeS)-dodecyldimethylamine oxide (DDAO) mixtures in water were determined at 298 and 310 K, respectively. From the enthalpies of dilution, the apparent and then the partial molar relative enthalpies of the surfactant mixtures were calculated. From the osmotic coefficients, calculated at 298 K, the non-ideal free energies were derived. The latter were combined with the partial molar relative enthalpies to obtain the non-ideal entropies. From the apparent molar properties, using a previously reported approach, the excess thermodynamic properties for the surfactant-surfactant mixed micelle formation in water were evaluated as functions of the mixture composition at some total micellized concentration. In the whole range of the mixture composition, the excess free energy is negative, indicating that the mixed micelle formation is favoured with respect to that of pure micelles. This process is governed by the enthalpy and/or the entropy, depending on the mixture composition. The effect of the alkyl chain length was also studied by comparing the present results to those of the sodium dodecylsulfate-DDAO mixture.     

Studies of mixed micelle formation between cationic gemini and cationic conventional surfactants

Mixed micellization of dimeric cationic surfactants tetramethylene-1,4-bis(hexadecyldimethylammonium bromide)(16-4-16), hexamethylene-1,6-bis(hexadecyldimethylammonium bromide) (16-6-16) with monomeric cationic surfactants hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), cetylpyridinium bromide (CPB), cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), and tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTAB) have been studied by conductivity and steady-state fluorescence quenching techniques. The behavior of mixed systems, their compositions, and activities of the components have been analyzed in the light of Rubingh's regular solution theory. The results indicate synergism in the binary mixtures. Ideal and experimental critical micelle concentrations (i.e., cmc(*) and cmc) show nonideality, which is confirmed by beta values and activity coefficients. The micelle aggregation numbers (N(agg)), evaluated using steady-state fluorescence quenching at a total concentration of 2 mM for CTAB/16-4-16 or 16-6-16 and 5 mM for TTAB/16-4-16 or 16-6-16 systems, indicate that the contribution of conventional surfactants was always more than that of the geminis. The micropolarity, dielectric constant and binding constants (K(sv)) of mixed systems have also been evaluated from the ratios of respective peak intensities (I(1)/I(3) or I(0)/I(1)).     

Synthesis of micelle templated silico-aluminas with different alumina contents

The computer aided analysis of the EPR spectra of radical surfactant probes inserted in cetyltrimethylammonium bromide micelles provided information on the kinetics of formation of micelle templated silico-aluminas (MTSA) at 343 K, obtained by means of silica and alumina alkaline solutions at different Si/Al ratios (from infinity to 4). Mainly two spectral components were analyzed and relatively quantified in the EPR spectra: (1) the micellar component, due to probes inserted in the surfactant aggregates, whose mobility decreases over the synthesis time, thus reporting on the progressive modification of the micelle structure and the solid condensation; (2) the interacting component, mainly arising from the electrostatic interactions between the surfactant heads and the charged surface sites. This last component increases its relative intensity over the synthesis time, informing about condensation and structuration of the silico-alumina at the micelle surface. X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen sorption isotherms at 77 K, thermogravimetric analysis, TEM and chemical analysis were performed to characterize both as-synthesized and calcined MTSA materials. Nitrogen sorption isotherms allowed us to evaluate the pore diameter, the specific surface area and the pore volume. At Si/Al<15 a decrease in pore volume and specific surface area was interpreted as due to the contemporaneous presence of a hexagonal MTSA and an amorphous material, which was ascertained by means of XRD as the only present at Si/Al=4. The amorphous structure at Si/Al<15 used Na+ as contraions, whereas the surfactants are no more needed to neutralize the negatively charged groups at the solid surface. The hypothesis of a "break" at Si/Al=15 was supported by EPR: the interactions between the surfactant probe heads and the negatively charged surface groups are drastically reduced at Si/Al<15. On the contrary, at Si/Al>15, increasing amounts of alumina slow the kinetics of the synthesis but enhance electrostatic interactions between the surfactant heads and the negatively charged surface groups. Dilution of the synthesis mixture decreased the extent of the interactions, due to partial protonation of the silanol groups, and slowed the synthesis process.     

Micellization,mixed micellization and solubilization: The role of interfacial interactions

The importance of interfacial Interactions in governing micellization, mixed micellization, polymer-micene complexation and solubilization is examined in this review. A common thermodynamic approach is used to treat these different phenomena involving surfactant self-assembly. In all the cases, the free energy of self-assembly can be decomposed into bulk and interfacial components. The interfacial component arises from two competing contributions. One is due to the free energy of formation of the micellar core-solvent interface while the other is due to the steric and electrostatic interactions among the head groups at the micellar surface. The competition between these two contributions is shown here as determining all the fundamental features of self-assembly. Specifically, we discuss in this review the influence of interfacial interactions on the cooperativity of self-assembly, the critical micelle concentration, the size and size distribution of micelles, the transition from spherical to cylindrical micelles, the non-ideal behavior in mixed surfactants, the complexation or non-complexation of micelles with polymers, the solubilization of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons and the selective and synergistic solubilization of hydrocarbon mixtures.     

Biological solubilization of untreated north dakota lignite by a mixed bacterial and a mixed bacterial/fungal culture

Four microbial cultures, two pure and two mixed, were examined for their abilities to solubilize chemically treated (oxidized) lignites, thermally treated (wet-carbonized) lignite, and untreated lignites. Extensive solubilization of oxidized lignites and limited solubilization of untreated North Dakota lignite was observed by three of the four cultures tested. Solubilization of wet-carbonized (a technique to reduce equilibrium moisture and oxygen contents) lignite was not demonstrated. The increase in solubilization correlated with the increase in the oxygen content of lignite and the pH of culture broths. These results also suggest that microbial solubilization of coal may involve nonlignin degrading organisms capable of producing alkaline conditions in the presence of coal.

     

Preparation and characterization of Pluronic/TPGS mixed micelles for solubilization of camptothecin

To increase the solubility and cytotoxicity of poorly soluble anticancer drug camptothecin (CPT), mixed micelles made of Pluronic P105 (P105) and d-alpha-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1,000 succinate (TPGS) were prepared. The interaction of Pluronic and TPGS was studied and critical micelle concentration (CMC) was used to evaluate the micellar stability towards dilution. Poorly soluble anticancer drug CPT was incorporated into the mixed micelles. The solubility of CPT by the mixed micelles was more than that of the free drug. The cytotoxicity of the CPT-loaded mixed micelles against MCF-7 cancer cell in vitro was remarkably higher than that of the free drug.     

Longitudinal lattice modes in linear mixed valence compounds

Mixed valence compounds of platinum or palladium have a crystal structure that consists of long, linear chains. The frequencies of the three collective (phonon) longitudinal k ≈ 0 optical modes bear little relevance to those of longitudinal modes of the independent molecules, being different in general and not in a one to one correspondence with them. Therefore, they have to be taken into account as such when the observed intensity peaks in resonance Raman or infrared spectra of these compounds are analyzed.     

Analysis of bacitracin by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography with mixed micelle in acidic solution

A method used for quantitative analysis of bacitracin with micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC) is described. As capillary zone electrophoresis gave poor separation selectivity, MEKC was preferable. It was found that a zwitterionic surfactant, 3-(N,N-dimethylhexadecylammonium)-propanesulfonate (PAPS) gave the best selectivity among the several surfactants studied. As the analytes tend to adsorb onto the capillary wall due to their positive charge, an acidic solution composed of Tris-phosphate buffer at pH 2.5 was necessary to diminish such adsorption. The peak tailing caused by relatively strong ion pair interaction between the analyte and PAPS micelle could be reduced by adding nonionic surfactant Brij 35 to the PAPS solution. This phenomenon is possibly explained by a mixed micelle mechanism. In order to obtain the optimal conditions and to test the method robustness, a central composite experimental design was performed. The optimal conditions are as follows: 44 cm length of fused-silica capillary with 50 microm inner diameter, 90 mM Tris-phosphate buffer (pH 2.5) containing 17 mM PAPS and 0.3% w/v-Brij 35, 18 kV applied voltage, UV detection at 192 nm and 25 degrees C column temperature. Under the optimal conditions, more than 50 peaks could be obtained in 30 min. The method had a linearity range from 1 to 0.05 mg/mL (concentration of bacitracin A). The limit of quantitation (LOQ) and limit of detection (LOD) were 0.005 and 0.0012 mg/mL, respectively.     

Synergistic sphere-to-rod micelle transition in mixed solutions of sodium dodecyl sulfate and cocoamidopropyl betaine

Static and dynamic light scattering experiments show that the mixed micelles of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and cocoamidopropyl betaine (CAPB) undergo a sphere-to-rod transition at unexpectedly low total surfactant concentrations, about 10 mM. The lowest transition concentration is observed at molar fraction 0.8 of CAPB in the surfactant mixture. The transition brings about a sharp increase in the viscosity of the respective surfactant solutions due to the growth of rodlike micelles. Parallel experiments with mixed solutions of CAPB and sodium laureth sulfate (sodium dodecyl-trioxyethylene sulfate, SDP3S) showed that the sphere-to-rod transition in SDP3S/CAPB mixtures occurs at higher surfactant concentrations, above 40 mM. The observed difference in the transition concentrations for SDS and SDP3S can be explained by the bulkier SDP3S headgroup. The latter should lead to larger mean area per molecule in the micelles containing SDP3S and, hence, to smaller spontaneous radius of curvature of the micelles (i.e., less favored transition from spherical to rodlike micelles). The static light scattering data are used to determine the mean aggregation number and the effective size of the spherical mixed SDS/CAPB micelles. From the dependence of the aggregation number on the surfactant concentration, the mean energy for transfer of a surfactant molecule from a spherical into a rodlike micelle is estimated.