Relaxation phenomena in monoglyceride films at the air–water interface

Monoglycerides are the most commonly used surfactants in the food industry in traditional food, low-fat products and instant foods. In this work we are essentially concerned with the study of the stability in monoglyceride monolayers (monopalmitin, monoolein and monolaurin) as a function of surface pressure (10 and 20 mN.m⁻¹) and aqueous phase pH (pH 5 and 7). Monolayer stability was determined in an automated Langmuir-type film balance at constant temperature (20 and 40°C). The rate of monolayer molecular loss increases with surface pressure, and is pH dependent. Molecular loss at the interface also depends on the lipid. In the discussion, special attention will be given to the effect of the hydrocarbon chain length and the presence of a double bond in the hydrocarbon chain. Monopalmitin monolayers are more stable than those of monoolein and monolaurin. Maximum instability was observed with monolaurin monolayers. Two kinds of experiment have been performed to analyse relaxation mechanisms. In one, the surface pressure is kept constant, and the area is measured as a function of time. In the second, the area is kept constant at monolayer collapse and the surface pressure decreases. This decrease is measured as a function of time. Various relaxation mechanisms, including monolayer molecular loss by dissolution and/or collapse, can be fitted to the results derived from these experiments.     

Polyelectrolyte/surfactant mixtures at the air–solution interface

This review presents some of the recent developments in our understanding of the behaviour of polyelectrolyte/surfactant mixtures at the air–solution interface. The existence of a strong surface polyelectrolyte/surfactant interaction results in a complex pattern of surface adsorption. Recent studies, using a range of surface sensitive techniques, which include ellipsometry, neutron and X-ray reflectivity, surface tension and interfacial rheology, have considerably enhanced the understanding of their surface behaviour, which can be rationalized in terms of the competition between the formation of surface active polymer/surfactant complexes and solution polymer/surfactant micelle complexes.     

Interfacial characteristics of β-casein spread films at the air–water interface

Casein is well known to be a good protein emulsifier and β-casein is the major component of casein and commercial sodium caseinate. This work studies the behaviour of β-casein at the interface. The interfacial characteristics (structure and stability) of β-casein spread films have been examined at the air–water interface in a Langmuir-type film balance, as a function of temperature (5–40°C) and aqueous phase pH (pH 5 and 7). From surface pressure–area isotherms (π–A isotherms) as a function of temperature we can draw a phase diagram. β-Casein spread films present two structures and the collapse phase. That is, there is a critical surface pressure and a surface concentration at which the film properties change significantly. This transition depends on the temperature and the aqueous phase pH. The film structure was observed to be more condensed and β-casein interfacial density was higher at pH 5. β-Casein films were stable at surface pressures lower than equilibrium surface pressure. In fact, no hysteresis was observed in π–A isotherms after continuous compression-expansion cycles or over time. The relative area relaxation at constant surface pressure (10 or 20 mN m⁻¹) and the surface pressure relaxation at constant area near the monolayer collapse, can be fitted by two exponential equations. The characteristic relaxation times in β-casein films can be associated with conformation–organization changes, hydrophilic group hydration and/or surface rheology, as a function of pH.     

Surface properties of hen egg yolk low-density lipoproteins spread at the air–water interface

Hen egg yolk is largely used as food ingredient notably because of its exceptional emulsifying properties. Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) are the main egg yolk constituent. LDL and particularly apoLDL are thought to control largely emulsifying properties of egg yolk-based products. Nevertheless, few studies have concerned the interfacial behaviour of these lipoproteins at the oil–water interface and nothing has been published about the air–water interface. Controversies still remain about LDL adsorption mechanism at the oil–water interface even if a widely spread theory suggests their breaking at the interface, allowing then their constituents to spread. The Langmuir film balance and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used in this study in the aim to characterise LDL surface behaviour in dynamic conditions at the air–water interface. The understanding of LDL adsorption mechanism and surface organisation at the air–water interface should provide useful information about LDL behaviour at the oil–water interface. LDL and lipids extracted from LDL—neutral lipids, phospholipids and total lipids (mixture of the two previous species)—were spread at the air–water interface to clarify the role of each constituent in the lipoprotein film. Results clearly show that LDL are disrupted at the interface to release notably neutral lipids from the lipoprotein core, enabling then their spreading. Each lipid class has been identified on the LDL film isotherm and seems to behave independently and individually at the interface within the lipoprotein film.     

Surface viscoelasticity of phospholipid monolayers at the air/water interface

The surface viscoelastic properties of monolayers of two phospholipids DPPC (L--dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine) and DMPE (L--dimyristoylphosphatidyl-ethanolamin), at the air-water interface have been investigated. Two techniques were used for the investigation. One involved use of an interfacial shear rheometer (torsion pendulum apparatus ISR1), to provide measurements of the shear viscosity _s as a function of surface pressure, and the second, a modified LB trough with an oscillating barrier to generate periodie dilation and compression so as to measure the dilational elastic modulusE as a function of surface area.Results indicate a strong dependence of _s andE upon monolayer phases. This suggests that the viscoelastic relaxation of monolayers can be understood as molecular rearrangements, domain exchange and molecular reorientations between different monolayer states.     

Palladium–cadmium sulfide nanopowder at oil–water interface as an effective catalyst for Suzuki–Miyaura reactions

A simple and effective strategy is described for the synthesis of Pd–CdS nanopowder by the reduction of an organopalladium(II) complex, [PdCl₂(cod)] (cod = cis ,cis ‐1,5‐cyclooctadiene), in the presence of CdS quantum dots (QDs) at a toluene–water interface. We investigated the impact of addition of CdS QDs on catalytic activity of Pd nanoparticles (NPs). The Pd–CdS nanopowder functions as an efficient catalyst for Suzuki–Miyaura reactions for the formation of carbon–carbon bonds. There is a high electron density on Pd NPs and due to their high electron affinity they behave as an electron scavenger from CdS increasing the rate of oxidative addition, which is the rate‐determining step of the catalytic cycle, and, just as we expect, the C─C coupling reaction with the Pd–CdS nanopowder is faster and occurs in less time than that with Pd nanocatalysts. Compared to classical reactions, this method consistently has the advantages of short reaction times, high yields in a green solvent, reusability of the catalyst without considerable loss of catalytic activity and low cost, and is a facile method for the preparation of the catalyst.     

Studies of dynamic surface tension of polyoxyethylene alkylphenols at the air–water interface

This paper presents the study of dynamic surface tension of polyoxyethylene alkylphenol surfactants (Igepals) at the air–solution interface. The experimental investigation of the surface tension dynamics are carried out using a pendant drop method for two of the representative alkylphenols (Igepal-630 and Igepal-720) nonionic surfactants. The general trend of the dynamic surface tension for the two surfactants appears to be similar. However, the absolute surface activities are different. Between the two poloxyethylene alkylphenol surfactants, it was found that Igepal-C0-630 has a higher surface activity and a lower critical micelle concentration (CMC) value. This agreed well with their reported hydrophile–lipophile balance (HLB). The equilibrium adsorption parameters for these surfactant systems have been estimation using two different methods and are in good agreement. The theoretical model developed for the surface tension dynamics based on the Statistical Rate Theory (SRT) in our earlier (J. Colloid Interface Sci., 286, 2005, 14–27) work satisfactorily predicted the experimental results for the present systems.     

Rat osseous plate alkaline phosphatase as Langmuir monolayer--an infrared study at the air-water interface

A glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored enzyme (rat osseous plate alkaline phosphatase-OAP) was studied as monolayer (pure and mixed with lipids) at the air-water interface. Surface pressure and surface potential-area isotherms showed that the enzyme forms a stable monolayer and exhibits a liquid-expanded state even at surface pressure as high as 30 mN m(-1). Isotherms for mixed dimyristoylphosphatidic acid (DMPA)-OAP monolayer showed the absence of a liquid-expanded/liquid-condensed phase transition as observed for pure DMPA monolayer. In both cases, pure or mixed monolayer, the enzyme preserves its native conformation under compression at the air-water interface as observed from in situ p-polarized light Fourier transform-infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopic (FT-IRRAS) measurements. Changes in orientation and conformation of the enzyme due to the presence or absence of DMPA, as well as due to the surface compression, are discussed.     

Topography of dipalmitoyl-phosphatidyl-choline monolayers penetrated by β-casein

In this work we have analyzed the topography by atomic force microscopy (AFM) of dipalmitoyl-phosphatidyl-choline (DPPC) monolayers previously spread at the air–water interface and penetrated by β-casein. AFM images of β-casein–DPPC monolayers were taken from Langmuir–Blodgett films deposited onto hydrophilic mica substrates at different initial surface pressures (π_i) and after the compression of the mixed films. The monolayer topography depends on the initial structure of the phospholipid:liquid expanded (LE) at 3 mN/m, coexistence between LE and liquid condensed (LC) structures at 7 mN/m, at the end of the LE–LC transition at 10 mN/m, and with a LC structure at 15 mN/m. The area occupied by DPPC domains in the mixed film increases with the π_i value, especially for DPPC with a LC structure at 15 mN/m. At this surface pressure the thickness of the film is at a maximum. After the film compression at 25 mN/m, which is above the equilibrium spreading pressure of β-casein (), this protein is displaced from the interface by DPPC and the topography of the mixed monolayer depends on the initial structure of the DPPC monolayer. A notable feature of the topography of these mixed monolayers is the presence of multilayers of β-casein and DPPC of high thickness (50–70 nm) at the lower π_i values. Although the film is dominated by DPPC at the highest surface pressures (at 25 mN/m), β-casein is not displaced totally from the interface and coexists as β-casein collapsed domains within the network of the DPPC structure.     

Temperature effect of hydrophobically modified polyethylene oxide at the air–water interface

Surface pressure (π)–area (A) isotherms of hydrophobically modified polyethylene oxide (HEUR) at the air–water interface was examined. Conformational transitions between pancake, mushroom, and brush states of the hydrophilic backbone influence the intermolecular interaction between the hydrophobic chains. We choose relatively long (18 carbons) hydrophobic ends, which have large hydrophobic interactions, and investigate the main chain effect by change in the length of the hydrophilic PEO chain. At high surface concentration region, the temperature coefficient of surface pressure, dπ/dT, was larger by increasing the portion of the hydrophobicity. This indicates an increase in surface energy and a decrease in surface enthalpy at high surface concentrations. As alkyl chains on both sides of HEURs are anchored at the air–water interface, restriction caused by the alkyl chain would be smaller for the long PEO chain, but the larger for the short PEO chain length.     

Langmuir monolayers and Langmuir–Blodgett films of 1-acyl-1,2,4-triazoles

New 1-acyl-1,2,4-triazoles (ATs) with different n-alkyl chain lengths from C2 to C18 were synthesized. ATs with long n-alkyl chains (C12 and larger) are non-charged amphiphilic molecules with a polar triazole head group. The Langmuir isotherms of ATs at the air–water interface with 12 (DoT-C12), 14 (MyT-C14), 16 (PaT-C16) and 18 (StT-C18) carbon atoms in their n-alkyl chains were studied using surface pressure-mean molecular area (π-mmA) measurements. Characteristic for the Langmuir isotherms of PaT-C16 and StT-C-18 was the first sharp increase of the surface pressure at a mmA value of 20 Å² marking a transition of the ATs from the gaseous state with n-alkyl chains already oriented perpendicular to the water surface to a condensed state. The collapse of the monolayers occurred between 20 and 36 mN m⁻¹ with a typical ‘spike’ in the isotherms of MyT-C14, PaT-C16 and StT-C18 which can be assigned to the buckling and subsequent folding of the monolayer. After the collapse point a pseudo-plateau region of slightly increasing surface pressure appeared for all ATs from C12 to C18 indicating a trilayer formation by the roll-over mechanism for MyT-C14, PaT-C16 and StT-C18. Upon further compression the final collapse occurred at π values between 59 and 67 mN m⁻¹. From reversibility studies it was found that the Langmuir isotherms of the ATs were irreversible. The morphology of Langmuir–Blodgett films of ATs transferred onto silicon wafers was studied by atomic force microscopy.     

Evaluation of the interactions between lipids and γ-globulin protein at the air–liquid interface

The interactions between lipids (cholesterol, distearoylphosphatidylcholine, distearoylphosphatidylethanolamine and sphingomyelin) and the γ-globulin protein have been analyzed using the monolayer technique at the air–liquid interface. The analysis has been carried out using both state equations and an adequate thermodynamic formulation for the surface pressure (π)–molecular area (a) isotherms. Different parameters as the virial coefficients, have been estimated. For the uncharged lipid monolayers, the interactions between the molecules are of an attractive nature, at medium and long distance, and of a steric repulsive nature at short distance. At low surface pressures the lipid molecules form small domains. The net force between γ-Globulin molecules in the monolayers has been found to be attractive. Finally, it can be concluded that when the lipid monolayers are uncharged, there is practically no interaction between the protein and lipid molecules at the mentioned interface.     

Molecular dynamics simulations of aqueous ions at the liquid–vapor interface accelerated using graphics processors

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are a vital tool in chemical research, as they are able to provide an atomistic view of chemical systems and processes that is not obtainable through experiment. However, large‐scale MD simulations require access to multicore clusters or supercomputers that are not always available to all researchers. Recently, scientists have returned to exploring the power of graphics processing units (GPUs) for various applications, such as MD, enabled by the recent advances in hardware and integrated programming interfaces such as NVIDIA's CUDA platform. One area of particular interest within the context of chemical applications is that of aqueous interfaces, the salt solutions of which have found application as model systems for studying atmospheric process as well as physical behaviors such as the Hoffmeister effect. Here, we present results of GPU‐accelerated simulations of the liquid–vapor interface of aqueous sodium iodide solutions. Analysis of various properties, such as density and surface tension, demonstrates that our model is consistent with previous studies of similar systems. In particular, we find that the current combination of water and ion force fields coupled with the ability to simulate surfaces of differing area enabled by GPU hardware is able to reproduce the experimental trend of increasing salt solution surface tension relative to pure water. In terms of performance, our GPU implementation performs equivalent to CHARMM running on 21 CPUs. Finally, we address possible issues with the accuracy of MD simulaions caused by nonstandard single‐precision arithmetic implemented on current GPUs. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2011     

Dynamical and morphological studies on the adsorption and penetration of human serum albumin into phospholipid monolayers at the air/water interface

The dynamic adsorption and penetration of human serum albumin (HSA) into the monolayers of five biologically important surfactants—DSPC, DPPC, DMPC, DMPE and DMPA—were systematically studied using Brewster angle microscopy, film balance and pendent drop techniques. Isotherms after different adsorption times show that the presence of HSA changed the monolayer phase behavior (e.g. the shifts of the LE→LC phase transition in the mixed phospholipid/HSA monolayers). Apparent inhomogeneous phases—‘honey-comb’ (J. Mol. Liq., 2001, 90, 149), ‘block’ or ‘stripe’ shape phases are formed due to the adsorption and penetration of HSA into these phospholipid monolayers at the air/water interface. Both the phase behavior changes and the morphological changes were confirmed by our recent structure studies in DPPA/HSA and DPPS/HSA monolayers using X-ray diffraction at grazing incidence, which directly shows that HSA penetration can change the tilt angle of phospholipids. It was found that the adsorption and penetration of HSA strongly depends on the phospholipid head-group structure and the physical state of the phospholipid films. The latter played a dominant role by providing enough space for the penetration of HSA and affecting the hydrophobic interactions of HSA with the aliphatic chains of phospholipids in monolayers at the air/water interface. In general, HSA penetrates more efficiently and quickly into monolayers of phospholipids in liquid state (e.g. DMPC compared to DSPC) and with unprotected charges (e.g. PA compared to PE and PC).     

Mineral–water interfacial structures revealed by synchrotron X-ray scattering

Chemical reactions occurring at the mineral–water interface are controlled by an interfacial layer, nanometers thick, whose properties may deviate from those of the respective bulk mineral and water phases. The molecular-scale structure of this interfacial layer, however, is poorly constrained, and correlations between macroscopic phenomena and molecular-scale processes remain speculative. The application of high-resolution X-ray scattering techniques has begun to provide substantial new insights into the molecular-scale structure of the mineral–water interface. In this review, we describe the characteristics of synchrotron-based X-ray scattering techniques that make them uniquely powerful probes of mineral–water interfacial structures and discuss the new insights that have been derived from their application. In particular, we focus on efforts to understand the structure and distribution of interfacial water as well as their dependence on substrate properties for major mineral classes including oxides, carbonates, sulfates, phosphates, silicates, halides and chromates. We compare these X-ray scattering results with those from other structural and spectroscopic techniques and integrate these to provide a conceptual framework upon which to base an understanding of the systematic variation of mineral–water interfacial structures.     

Orientation‐Induced Adsorption of Hydrated Protons at the Air–Water Interface

The surface tension of the air—water interface increases upon addition of inorganic salts, implying a negative surface excess of ionic species. Most acids, however, induce a decrease in surface tension, indicating a positive surface excess of hydrated protons. In combination with the apparent negative charge at pure air–water interfaces derived from electrokinetic experiments, this experimental observation has been a source of intense debate since the mid‐19th century. Herein, we calculate surface tensions and ionic surface propensities at air–water interfaces from classical, thermodynamically consistent molecular dynamics simulations. The surface tensions of NaOH, HCl, and NaCl solutions show outstanding quantitative agreement with experiment. Of the studied ions, only H₃O⁺ adsorbs to the air–water interface. The adsorption is explained by the deep potential well caused by the orientation of the H₃O⁺ dipole in the interfacial electric field, which is confirmed by ab initio simulations.     

Effect of surfactant structure on the adsorption of carboxybetaines at the air–water interface

In order to study the effect of charge on the adsorption of surfactants at the air–water interface, two carboxybetaines have been synthesized with different number of separation methylenes between their charged groups. After purification and structure confirmation, the equilibrium and dynamic surface tensions were measured as a function of surfactant concentration for both the cationic and neutral forms of the surfactant molecules. The effect of ionic strength on the adsorption process was also studied. The equilibrium surface tension values were interpreted according to the Langmuir model and the dynamic surface tension data, converted to surface concentration by the Langmuir parameters, are consistent with the assumption of diffusion control over the range of surfactant concentrations studied. The diffusion coefficients show a progressive decrease in the rate of adsorption when the number of methylene units between the betaine charged groups increase.     

Host–Guest Complexation of Amphiphilic Molecules at the Air–Water Interface Prevents Oxidation by Hydroxyl Radicals and Singlet Oxygen

The oxidation of antioxidants by oxidizers imposes great challenges to both living organisms and the food industry. Here we show that the host–guest complexation of the carefully designed, positively charged, amphiphilic guanidinocalix[5]arene pentadodecyl ether (GC5A‐12C) and negatively charged oleic acid (OA), a well‐known cell membrane antioxidant, prevents the oxidation of the complex monolayers at the air–water interface from two potent oxidizers hydroxyl radicals (OH) and singlet delta oxygen (SDO). OH is generated from the gas phase and attacks from the top of the monolayer, while SDO is generated inside the monolayer and attacks amphiphiles from a lateral direction. Field‐induced droplet ionization mass spectrometry results have demonstrated that the host–guest complexation achieves steric shielding and prevents both types of oxidation as a result of the tight and “sleeved in” physical arrangement, rather than the chemical reactivity, of the complexes.