Single nanoparticle imaging and characterization of different phospholipid-encapsulated quantum dot micelles

Phospholipid quantum dot (QD) micelles have been extensively used as fluorescent tags in single nanoparticle imaging for biomedical imaging. In this work, the microscopic structures and photophysical properties of the phospholipid QD micelles were studied at the single nanoparticle level. Two commonly used types of phospholipid QD micelles were prepared and tested both on a solid-phase surface and in liquid phase, including 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-encapsulated QD micelles (DSPE-QDMs) and 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-2000]-encapsulated QD micelles (PEG-DSPE-QDMs). Their fluorescence intensities and diffusion trajectories were determined by a total internal reflection fluorescence-based single nanoparticle imaging platform and comparatively analyzed carefully. It was demonstrated that DSPE-QDMs possessed a comparably wider intensity distribution and lower diffusion coefficient than that of PEG-DSPE-QDMs. PEG-DSPE-QDMs exhibited an obvious fluorescent intermittence. The results suggested that for most of the DSPE-QDMs, more than one QD were encapsulated in a single micelle. On the other hand, only one QD was embedded in a single micelle of PEG-DSPE-QDMs for most of the cases. Such variances suggested that phospholipids play a key role in the fabrication of the QD micelles. This work provides a useful foundation for their further biomedical applications.     

Phase behavior of a mixture of poly(isoprene)-poly(oxyethylene) diblock copolymer and poly(oxyethylene) surfactant in water

The phase behavior of a mixture of poly(isoprene)-poly(oxyethylene) diblock copolymer (PI-PEO or C250EO70) and poly(oxyethylene) surfactant (C12EO3, C12EO5, C12EO6, C12EO7, and C12EO9) in water was investigated by phase study, small-angle X-ray scattering, and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The copolymer is not soluble in surfactant micellar cubic (I1), hexagonal (H1), and lamellar (Lalpha) liquid crystals, whereas an isotropic copolymer fluid phase coexists with these liquid crystals. Although the PI-PEO is relatively lipophilic, it increases the cloud temperatures of C12EO3-9 aqueous solutions at a relatively high PI-PEO content in the mixture. Most probably, in the copolymer-rich region, PI-PEO and C12EOn form a spherical composite micelle in which surfactant molecules are located at the interface and the PI chains form an oil pool inside. In the C12EO5/ and C12EO6/PI-PEO systems, one kind of micelles is produced in the wide range of mixing fraction, although macroscopic phase separation was observed within a few days after the sample preparation. On the other hand, small surfactant micelles coexist with copolymer giant micelles in C12EO7/ and C12EO9/PI-PEO aqueous solutions in the surfactant-rich region. The micellar shape and size are calculated using simple geometrical relations and compared with DLS data. Consequently, a large PI-PEO molecule is not soluble in surfactant bilayers (Lalpha phase), infinitely long rod micelles (H1 phase), and spherical micelles (I1 phase or hydrophilic spherical micelles) as a result of the packing constraint of the large PI chain. However, the copolymer is soluble in surfactant rod micelles (C12EO5 and C12EO6) because a rod-sphere transition of the surfactant micelles takes place and the long PI chains are incorporated inside the large spherical micelles.     

Mixed fluorinated-hydrogenated surfactant-based system: preparation of ordered mesoporous materials

We have investigated a mixed fluorinated-hydrogenated surfactant-based system [C8F17C2H4(OC2H4)9-C12H25(OC2H4)8] in water. The phase diagram exhibits that the micellar domain can be divided into three parts: above 80 wt% of water both hydrogenated and fluorinated surfactants are completely miscible and they formed mixed micelles in all proportion. When the water concentration is decreased from 80 to 60 wt% a gap of miscibility appears and two micellar zones, one fluorocarbon-rich micelles and one hydrocarbon-rich micelles are observed. The liquid crystal domain is composed of one fluorocarbon-rich (H(F)(1)) and one hydrocarbon-rich (H(H)(1)) hexagonal phase. The hydrophobic radius and the cross-sectional area remain constant in the H(H)(1) and in the H(F)(1) domains. Moreover, SAXS measurements proved that the hydrophobic chains in the liquid crystal phases adopt rather an extended conformation. Then the mixture of surfactants was used as template for the preparation of mesoporous materials. Mesostructured silicas with a well hexagonal array of their channels were prepared via a cooperative templating mechanism (CTM), if the loading of fluorinated surfactant is larger than 50%. Decreasing the proportion of the fluorinated amphiphile in the mixture leads to the formation of mesoporous silica with a disordered structure. In this case the channel arrangement is no longer governed by the fluorinated surfactant but by the hydrogenated one.     

Synthesis and characterization of cross-linked reverse micelles

The design and synthesis of a new cross-linkable amphiphile is reported. Solutions of the amphiphile in a toluene/water mixture form reverse micelles as indicated by dynamic light scattering and NMR spectroscopy. As indicated by dynamic light scattering, TEM, and NMR spectroscopy data, these reverse micelles can be cross-linked without drastically changing the radius of the reverse micelles. Mixed reverse micelles are also characterized and cross-linked. The cross-linked reverse micelles are demonstrated to facilitate phase transfer and can be used to site isolate a catalyst.     

Phase Behavior and Aggregate Structure in Aqueous Mixtures of Sodium Cholate and Glycerol Monooleate

The phase behavior of the glycerol monooleate (GMO)-sodium cholate-water (or 0.9 wt% NaCl) system has been examined in the solvent-rich part, using small-angle X-ray scattering and conventional methods. Addition of cholate up to 7% of the total amphiphile swells the cubic phase of the binary GMO-water system so that it takes up almost 70% of water in the salt-free case and 55% in salt. With more bile salt the lamellar phase also appears highly swollen (up to 85% in water, 75% in brine). In the salt solution a small isotropic L3-phase region replaces the lamellar phase at a solvent content of about 79%. The lamellar phase can accept only about 0.2 cholate molecule per GMO, in both water and brine, and a phase with globular micelles (L1) follows and dominates the diagram. No threadlike micelles appear in this system. Investigation of the particle structures with cryo-transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in dilute systems (99% solvent) show globular micelles and coexisting vesicles and globular micelles. In the presence of salt, dilution of the L3 phase results in dispersed globular particles with an irregular internal morphology that suggests they are a dispersed L3 phase. These particles coexist with faceted particles having an inner structure giving a hexagonal pattern in projection, suggested to derive from the cubic phase. The cubic phase in the salt-free systems did not give dispersions stable enough for cryo-TEM examination. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.     

两亲分子聚集相的扫描隧道显微镜研究

用最近发展起来的局域探测手段－扫描隧道显微镜（ＳＴＭ）及其相伴的方法如局域功函数等，对具有十分丰富局域结构的两亲分子和水的两系统的聚集相作了初步研究，以期为两亲分子研究及局域化学的发展添砖加瓦，结果表明由ＳＴＭ可以真实对反映出各种聚集相的不同形貌，而且加上局域功函数像还可以揭示两亲分子的头尾取向，这对有机分子系统的局域结构的研究有普遍意义。     

Deformation of cylinders in the hexagonal phase of sodium decyl sulphate/decanol/water on the introduction of decanol

X-ray scattering studies show that aggregates of amphiphilic molecules in the hexagonal phase of the binary system sodium decyl sulphate/water are infinite cylinders whose radius is very close to that of the extended molecule. When sodium decyl sulphate molecules are progressively substituted by decanol molecules the phase remains hexagonal, up to a decanol/soap molar ratio of 0.15, but the radius of its cylinders becomes larger than the molecular length. We have developed specific experiments to investigate this growth and see if it is isotropic or anisotropic. We have focused our attention on the evolution of the configuration of soap and decanol molecules within the aggregates. Neutron scattering experiments show that the two molecules do not distribute themselves uniformly and D.M.R. measurements show that they stay anchored at the amphiphile/water interface by their polar heads. The distribution of the two molecules along the interface is not therefore uniform. This induces an inhomogeneity of the interfacial curvature and the growth of the section of the cylinders cannot be isotropic. This anisotropy increases when the decanol/soap molar ratio increases. It provides a clue to understand the transformation of the hexagonal phase into a recangular one whose aggregates are infinite ribbons with non-circular section, above the decanol/soap molar ratio of 0.15.     

Multistimuli responsive micelles formed by a tetrathiafulvalene-functionalized amphiphile

An electroactive tetrathiafulvalene (TTF)-functionalized amphiphile 1 was designed and synthesized to investigate its self-assembling behavior in water. Dynamic light scattering (DLS), (1)H NMR, fluorescence spectrum, and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) studies revealed that amphiphile 1 can form micelle-like aggregates via direct dissolution into water, and the micellar architectures could be disrupted either by addition of chemical oxidant Fe(ClO(4))(3) or by complexation with electron-deficient cyclobis(paraquat-p-phenylene) tetracation cyclophane (CBPQT(4+)) to release encapsulated hydrophobic dye Nile Red from the interior of micelles.     

Lyotropic liquid crystalline phase behaviour in amphiphile-protic ionic liquid systems

Approximate partial phase diagrams for nine amphiphile-protic ionic liquid (PIL) systems have been determined by synchrotron source small angle X-ray scattering, differential scanning calorimetry and cross polarised optical microscopy. The binary phase diagrams of some common cationic (hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium chloride, CTAC, and hexadecylpyridinium bromide, HDPB) and nonionic (polyoxyethylene (10) oleyl ether, Brij 97, and Pluronic block copolymer, P123) amphiphiles with the PILs, ethylammonium nitrate (EAN), ethanolammonium nitrate (EOAN) and diethanolammonium formate (DEOAF), have been studied. The phase diagrams were constructed for concentrations from 10 wt% to 80 wt% amphiphile, in the temperature range 25 °C to >100 °C. Lyotropic liquid crystalline phases (hexagonal, cubic and lamellar) were formed at high surfactant concentrations (typically >50 wt%), whereas at <40 wt%, only micelles or polydisperse crystals were present. With the exception of Brij 97, the thermal stability of the phases formed by these surfactants persisted to temperatures above 100 °C. The phase behaviour of amphiphile-PIL systems was interpreted by considering the PIL cohesive energy, liquid nanoscale order, polarity and ionicity. For comparison the phase behaviour of the four amphiphiles was also studied in water.     

Organosilane micellization for direct encapsulation of hydrophobic quantum dots into silica beads with highly preserved fluorescence

Effective silica coating on hydrophobic quantum dots (QDs) was achieved by ultrasonic fragmentation of lipophilic silane-QDs precusor into water-soluble micelles and subsequent silicate deposition. This method allowed high retention of QD fluorescent properties and an easy scaling over the size and loading amount of silica beads.     

Complexation‐Induced Supramolecular Assembly Drives Metal‐Ion Extraction

Combining experiment with theory reveals the role of self‐assembly and complexation in metal‐ion transfer through the water–oil interface. The coordinating metal salt Eu(NO₃)₃ was extracted from water into oil by a lipophilic neutral amphiphile. Molecular dynamics simulations were coupled to experimental spectroscopic and X‐ray scattering techniques to investigate how local coordination interactions between the metal ion and ligands in the organic phase combine with long‐range interactions to produce spontaneous changes in the solvent microstructure. Extraction of the Eu³⁺–3(NO₃^?) ion pairs involves incorporation of the “hard” metal complex into the core of “soft” aggregates. This seeds the formation of reverse micelles that draw the water and “free” amphiphile into nanoscale hydrophilic domains. The reverse micelles interact through attractive van der Waals interactions and coalesce into rod‐shaped polynuclear Eu^III‐containing aggregates with metal centers bridged by nitrate. These preorganized hydrophilic domains, containing high densities of O‐donor ligands and anions, provide improved Eu^III solvation environments that help drive interfacial transfer, as is reflected by the increasing Eu^III partitioning ratios (oil/aqueous) despite the organic phase approaching saturation. For the first time, this multiscale approach links metal‐ion coordination with nanoscale structure to reveal the free‐energy balance that drives the phase transfer of neutral metal salts.     

Transitions induced by solubilized fat into reverse hexagonal mesophases

Lyotropic liquid crystals of glycerol monooleate (GMO) and water binary mixtures have been extensively studied and their resemblance to human membranes has intrigued many scientists. Biological systems as well as food mixtures are composed of lipids and fat components including triacylglycerols (TAGs, triglycerides) that can affect the nature of the assembly of the mesophase. The present study examines the effect of TAGs of different chain lengths (C(2)-C(18)) at various water/GMO compositions, on phase transitions from lamellar or cubic to reverse hexagonal (L(alpha)-H(II) and Q-H(II)). The ability of the triglycerides to promote the formation of an H(II) mesophase is chain length-dependent. It was found that TAG molecules with very short acyl chains (triacetin) can hydrate the head groups of the lipid and do not affect the critical packing parameter (CPP) of the amphiphile; therefore, they do not affect the self-assembly of the GMO in water, and the mesophase remains lamellar or cubic. However, TAGs with medium chain fatty acids will solvate the tails of the lipid, and will affect the CPP of the GMO, and transform the lamellar or cubic phases into hexagonal mesophase. TAGs with long chain fatty acids are very bulky, not very miscible with the GMO, and therefore, kinetically are very slow to solvate the lipid tails of the amphiphile and are difficult to accommodate into the lipophilic parts of the GMO. Their effect on the transitions from a lamellar or cubic phase to hexagonal is detected only after months of equilibration. In order to enhance the effect of the TAG on the phase transitions in the GMO/triglyceride/water systems, temperature and electrolytes effects were examined. In the presence of short and medium chain triglycerides, increasing temperature caused a transition from lamellar or hexagonal to L(2) phase (highest CPP value). However, in the presence of long chain TAGs, increasing temperature to ca. 40 degrees C caused a formation of H(II) mesophase. In addition, it was found that in tricaprylin/GMO/water systems, the increase in temperature caused a decrease in the lattice parameter. The effect of NaCl on the H(II) mesophase revealed interesting results. At low concentration of tricaprylin (5 wt%), the addition of only 0.1 wt% of NaCl was sufficient to cause the formation of well-defined H(II) mesophase, while further addition of electrolyte increased the hexagonal lattice parameters. At higher TAGs concentrations (10 wt%), addition of electrolyte resulted in the formation of H(II) with modifications of the lattice parameter. All the examined effects were more pronounced with increasing water content.     

Supramolecular self-assembly of multiblock copolymers in aqueous solution

A unique pH-dependent phase behavior from a copolymer micellar solution to a collapsed hydrogel with micelles ordered in a hexagonal phase was observed. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) was used to follow the pH-dependent structural evolution of micelles formed in a solution of a pentablock copolymer consisting of poly((diethylaminoethyl methacrylate)-b-(ethylene oxide)-b-(propylene oxide)-b-(ethylene oxide)-b-(diethylaminoethyl methacrylate)) (PDEAEM25-b-PEO100-b-PPO65-b-PEO100-b-PDEAEM25). Between pH 3.0 and pH 7.4, we observed the presence of charged spherical micelles. Increasing the pH of the micelle solution above pH 7.4 resulted in increasing the size of the micelles due to the increasing hydrophobicity of the PDEAEM blocks above their pKa of 7.6. The increase in size of the spherical micelles resulted in a transition to a cylindrical micelle morphology in the pH range 8.1-10.5, and at pH >11, the copolymer solution undergoes macroscopic phase separation. Indeed, the phase separated copolymer sediments and coalesces into a hydrogel structure that consists of 25-35 wt % water. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) clearly indicated that the hydrogel has a hexagonal ordered phase. Interestingly, the process is reversible, as lowering of the pH below 7.0 leads to rapid dissolution of the solid into homogeneous solution. We believe that the hexagonal structure in the hydrogel is a result of the organization of the cylindrical micelles due to the increased hydrophobic interactions between the micelles at 70 degrees C and pH 11. Thus we have developed a pH-/temperature-dependent, reversible hierarchically self-assembling block copolymer system with structures spanning nano- to microscale dimensions.     

Simple model for the growth behaviour of mixed lecithin-bile salt micelles

Mixed lecithin-bile salt micelles are known to have a cylindrical or worm-like structure. We investigated their shape, length, flexibility and cross-sectional structure using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). A broad range of sample compositions was studied varying both the total amphiphile concentration and the molar ratio of bile salt (sodium taurochenodeoxycholate, NaTCDC) to lecithin (egg yolk phosphatidylcholine, EYL). The length of the micelles was quantitatively linked to the micellar composition by introducing a simple model. The model takes into account the partitioning of lecithin and bile salt between the bulk, cylindrical parts and the end caps of the micelles. The model also sheds light on the organization of the micelles, both in their cylindrical regions and end caps.     

Synthesis and phase characterization of a double-tailed pyrrole-containing surfactant: a novel tecton for the production of functional nanostructured materials

A double-tailed polymerizable (pyrrolylalkyl) ammonium amphiphile has been synthesized, and its interfacial properties and aqueous phase behavior have been studied by polarized optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The Krafft temperature is about 27 degrees C, and the critical micelle concentration at 40 degrees C is about 1 mM, as obtained from surface tension measurements, potentiometry, and isothermal titration calorimetry. The lyotropic behavior of the surfactant is found to be of a complex nature. At concentrations higher than the micellar (L1) region, two mesophases have been identified: a second isotropic (L2) phase, which is probably micellar but not fully miscible with water, and a lamellar (L(alpha)) phase, showing interesting alignment properties. Small-angle X-ray scattering analysis of the mesophases has been evaluated in terms of a model of spherical micelles, which describes a mutual arrangement by a structure factor derived from a hard-sphere potential (Percus-Yevick, "PY", approach). Interest in the comprehensive phase behavior of the polymerizable surfactant is based on the desire to integrate the system into a composite material to obtain potentially conducting self-assembled hybrid mesostructures.     

Phase behavior of the lecithin/water/isooctane and lecithin/water/decane systems

The isothermal pseudo-ternary-phase diagram was determined at 25 degrees C for systems composed oflecithin, water, and, as oil, either isooctane or decane. This was accomplished by a combination of polarizing microscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering, and NMR techniques. The lecithin-rich region of the phase diagram is dominated by a lamellar liquid-crystalline phase (Lalpha). For lecithin contents less than 60% and low hydration (mole ratio water/lecithin = W0 < 5.5), the system forms a viscous gel of branched cylindrical reverse micelles. With increase in the water content, the system phase separates into two phases, which is either gel in equilibrium with essentially pure isooctane (for lecithin < 25%) or a gel in equilibrium with Lalpha (for lecithin > 25%). These two-phase regions are very thin with respect to water dilution. For 8 < W0 < 54 very stable water-in-oil emulsions form. It is only after ripening for more than 1 year that the large region occupied by the emulsion reveals a complex pattern of stable phases. Moving along water dilution lines, one finds (i) the coexistence of gel, isooctane and Lalpha, (ii) equilibrium between reverse micelles and spherulites, and, finally, (iii) disconnected reverse micelles that fail to solubilize water for W0 > 54. This results in a Winsor II phase equilibrium at low lecithin content, while for lecithin > 20% the neat water is in equilibrium with a reverse hexagonal phase and an isotropic liquid-crystalline phase. The use of the decane as oil does not change the main features of the phase behavior.     

Cross-linked normal hexagonal and bicontinuous cubic assemblies via polymerizable gemini amphiphiles

The synthesis and lyotropic liquid-crystalline (LLC) phase behavior of a homologous series of intrinsically cross-linkable gemini surfactants are described. These novel bis(alkyl-1,3-diene)-based phosphonium gemini amphiphiles exhibit "normal" hexagonal (H(I)), Type I bicontinuous cubic (Q(I)), and lamellar (L(alpha)) phases in water, and can be photocross-linked with retention of phase architecture in each case. On the basis of their locations on the phase diagram, their powder X-ray diffraction profiles, and the physical properties of the cross-linked materials, the Q(I) phases formed by these gemini monomers are consistent with four possible bicontinuous cubic architectures with P or I space group symmetry that have been identified previously for small molecule amphiphiles. The extent of polymerization (i.e., the degree of diene conversion) achieved in the LLC phases was determined to be in the 23% to 71% range using UV-vis spectrometry, which is more than sufficient to extensively stabilize the systems. The resulting cross-linked H(I), L(alpha), and Q(I) phases are stable up to 300 degrees C in air. To our knowledge, these reactive amphiphiles constitute the first example of a polymerizable gemini surfactant, and the first example of a cross-linkable amphiphile system that can be polymerized in both the H(I) and a Q(I) mesophase with retention of phase microstructure.     

Studies on an ester-modified cationic amphiphile in aqueous systems: behavior of binary solutions and ternary mixtures with conventional surfactants

The aqueous behavior of an ester-modified cationic amphiphile with the molecular structure CH3CH2O(C=O)(CH2)6(C=O)O(CH2)8N+(CH3)3Br-, in the following referred to as A, has been investigated. Systems with A as the only solute, as well as different aqueous mixtures with conventional cationic surfactants, primarily dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB), were included in the study. Isotropic solution samples were characterized using 1H NMR, 13C NMR, NMR diffusometry, and conductivity measurements, whereas liquid crystalline samples were investigated by optical polarization microscopy and small-angle X-ray diffraction. The results are compared to the behavior of the binary system of DTAB and water. A does not exhibit a typical surfactant behavior. When it is present as the only solute in a binary aqueous system, it forms neither conventional micelles nor liquid crystalline phases. However, there is clear evidence that it assembles with lower cooperativity into loose clusters at concentrations above 25-30 mM. When A is mixed with DTAB in solution, the two amphiphiles form mixed assemblies, the structure of which varies with the total amphiphile concentration. In concentrated mixtures with alkyltrimethylammonium surfactants, A can participate in hexagonal liquid crystalline phases even when it constitutes a significant fraction of the total amphiphile content.     

Tailored jeffamine molecular tools for ordering mesoporous silica

Herein, we report the formation of organized mesoporous silica materials prepared from a novel nonionic gemini surfactant, myristoyl-end-capped Jeffamine, synthesized from a polyoxyalkyleneamine (ED900). The behavior of the modified Jeffamine in water was first investigated. A direct micellar phase (L(1)) and a hexagonal (H(1)) liquid crystal were found. The structure of the micelles was investigated from the SAXS and the analysis by generalized indirect Fourier transformation, which show that the particles are globular of core-shell type. The myristoyl chains, located at the ends of the amphiphile molecule, are assembled to form the core of the micelles and, as a consequence, the molecules are folded over on themselves. Mesoporous materials were then synthesized from the self-assembly mechanism. The recovered materials were characterized by SAXS measurements, nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis, and transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The results clearly evidence that by modifying the synthesis parameters, such as the surfactant/silica precursor molar ratio and the hydrothermal conditions, one can control the size and the nanostructuring of the resulting material. It was observed that, the lower the temperature of the hydrothermal treatment, the better the mesopore ordering.     

Structural changes induced by addition of a hydrocarbon to water/amphiphile mixtures

The phase conditions in a system of water, hexadecane, sodium dodecyl sulphate, and di-ethylene glycol dodecyl ether showed theW/O microemulsions to be obtained first after destabilization of a liquid crystalline phase by addition of the hexadecane. The original lamellar liquid crystalline phase was moved towards higher surfactant/cosurfactant ratios and a new phase with inverse amphiphile cylinders in a hexagonal packing appeared.