Solubilizing interactions of octylphenol surfactants with liposomes modeling the stratum corneum lipid composition

 The interaction of a series of polyethoxylated octylphenols (ethylene oxide units average 8.5–20.0) with liposomes modeling the stratum corneum (SC) lipid composition (40% ceramides, 25% cholesterol, 25% palmitic acid and 10% of cholesteryl sulfate) was investigated. The surfactant/lipid molar ratios (Re) and the bilayer/aqueous-phase partition coefficients (K) were determined by monitoring the changes in the static light scattering of the system during solubilization. The fact that free concentration for each surfactant tested was always similar to its critical micelle concentration (CMC) indi-cates that the liposome solubilization was mainly ruled by the formation of mixed micelles. The Re and K para-meters for liposome saturation fell as the surfactant HLB increased. Thus, at this interaction step the higher the surfactant HLB, the higher the ability of these surfactants to saturate SC liposomes and the lower their degree of partitioning into liposomes. However, the maximum solubilizing ability was achieved at intermediate HLB values. Thus, the octylphenols with 20 and 12.5 ethylene oxide units showed, respectively, the highest power of saturation and solubilization of SC structures in terms of the total surfactant amounts needed to produce these effects. Different trends in the interaction of these surfactants with SC liposomes were observed when comparing the Re and K parameters with those reported for PC ones. Thus, whereas the SC liposomes were more resistant to the surfactant action, the affinity of these surfactants with these bilayer structures was higher in all cases. Received: 3 March 1997 Accepted: 22 May 1997     

Examining the Potential of Plasma-Assisted Pretreated Wheat Straw for Enzyme Production by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trichoderma reesei</Emphasis>

Plasma-assisted pretreated wheat straw was investigated for cellulase and xylanase production by Trichoderma reesei fermentation. Fermentations were conducted with media containing washed and unwashed plasma-assisted pretreated wheat straw as carbon source which was sterilized by autoclavation. To account for any effects of autoclavation, a comparison was made with unsterilized media containing antibiotics. It was found that unsterilized washed plasma-assisted pretreated wheat straw (which contained antibiotics) was best suited for the production of xylanases (110 IU ml⁻¹) and cellulases (0.5 filter paper units (FPU) ml⁻¹). Addition of Avicel boosted enzyme titers with the highest cellulase titers (1.5 FPU ml⁻¹) found with addition of 50 % w/w Avicel and with the highest xylanase production (350 IU ml⁻¹) reached in the presence of 10 % w/w Avicel. Comparison with enzyme titers from other nonrefined feedstocks suggests that plasma pretreated wheat straw is a promising and suitable substrate for cellulase and hemicellulase production.     

Surface activity and redox behavior of nonionic surfactants containing an anthraquinone group as the redox-active site

Two new nonionic surfactants, α-anthraquinonyloxyhexyl-ω-hydroxy-oligo(ethylene oxide) (ACPEG) and α-anthraquinonyl-ω-hydroxy-oligo(ethylene oxide) (APEG), were synthesized. The fundamental interfacial behavior of these surfactants at the air/water interface has been investigated by means of surface tensiometry to provide an insight into the relationship between the structure of the hydrophobic moiety and the surfactant properties, with specific emphasis on the anthraquinone linkage. Aggregation numbers of the surfactants have been determined from static light scattering measurements. At a constant hydration of the ethylene oxide chain, the increase in the hydrophobic chain length in ACPEG raises its hydrophobic interaction and results in enhanced aggregation and significant variation in the interfacial and micellization properties compared to APEG. The electrochemical behavior of the surfactants has also been studied in 0.16 M NaCl aqueous solutions and in 0.1 M tetrabutylammonium perchlorate acetonitrile solutions at the interface of a glassy carbon electrode. A difference in the extent of aggregation has a pronounced effect on the cyclic voltammetric behavior of the surfactants in aqueous solution. In organic media, on the other hand, the redox process depends only on the molecular geometry of the monomeric species. A comparison of the electrochemical responses in the two phases has been made to explain the distinctive features of the redox properties of the surfactants. Received: 30 May 1999 Accepted in revised form: 29 June 1999     

Phase Behavior of Tweens/Toluene/Water Microemulsion Systems for the Solubilization Absorption of Toluene

The purpose of the present study was to formulate microemulsion systems comprised of polyoxyethelene sorbitan ester surfactants (Tweens) + cosurfactant + water + oil (toluene) and to investigate their potential use as absorbents for the removal of toluene from air. Toluene is an example of a volatile organic compound (VOC). The microemulsions formed are stabilized by the nonionic surfactants (Tweens) and toluene. The results indicate that Tween-60 is superior to other Tween surfactants, and the optimum value for the hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB) is 15. The performances of the cosurfactants followed the order n-butylamine>alcohol>butyric acid. The experimental results showed that the HLB value is more meaningful than the Bansal, Shah, O’Connell (BSO) equation for representing microemulsion systems. Comparative tests of this new absorbent system were performed in a double-stirred reactor, and the experimental absorption results were consistent with the phase diagram. Nonionic surfactant microemulsions have a significant absorption enhancement for toluene, as indicated by as much as 80.81% of toluene being present in the phase composition diagram, which thus have great prospects in air pollution remediation.     

Surfactant effect on the lower critical solution temperature of poly(organophosphazenes) with methoxy-poly(ethylene glycol) and amino acid esters as side groups

 The surfactant effect on the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of thermosensitive poly(organophosphazenes) with methoxy-poly(ethylene glycol) and amino acid esters as side groups was examined in terms of molecular interactions between the polyphosphazenes and surfactants including various anionic, cationic, and nonionic surfactants in aqueous solution. Most of the anionic and cationic surfactants increased the LCST of the polymers: the LCST increased more sharply with increasing length and hydrophobicity of the hydrophobic part of the surfactant molecule. The ΔLCSTs (T _0.03M− T _0M), the change in the LCST by addition of 0 and 0.03 M sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), were found to be 7.0 and 14.5 °C for the polymers bearing ethyl esters of glycine and aspartic acid, respectively. The LCST increase of poly(organophosphazene) having a more hydrophobic aspartic acid ethyl ester was 2 times larger compared with that of the polymer having glycine ethyl ester as a side group. The binding behavior of SDS to the polymer bearing glycine ethyl ester as a hydrophobic group was explained from the results of titration of the polymer solutions containing SDS with tetrapropylammonium bromide. Graphic models for the molecular interactions of polymer/surfactant and polymer/surfactant/salt in aqueous solutions were proposed. Received: 17 February 2000/Accepted: 25 April 2000     

Function and performance of silicone copolymer (VI). Synthesis and novel solution behavior of water-soluble polysiloxanes with different hydrophiles

Silicone surfactants containing different pendant hydrophilic groups such as diethanol tertiary amine (SHE, nonionic), diethanol methyl quaternary amine (cationic) and triethyl quaternary amine (cationic) have been synthesized and characterized by ¹H and ¹³C NMR and gel permeation chromatography. The solution behavior of these novel surfactants has also been investigated by surface tension measurement and a fluorescence method. It has been observed that the surface tension of these surfactants decreases as a function of time at a very low polymer concentration (1 × 10⁻⁴ wt%). At higher concentration (0.1 wt%), the equilibrium surface tensions reached very low values compared to that of typical polymer surfactants, for example, poly(ethylene oxide–propylene oxide) block copolymer (EPE0.8). In addition, the low I ₁/I ₃ values of these silicone surfactants indicate the formation of polymer aggregates in aqueous solution, and an extremely low I ₁/I ₃ value of SHE (1.06) compared to other polymeric surfactants (EPE0.8) and conventional surfactants [poly(ethylene glycol n-nonyl phenyl ethers), cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, and sodium dodecyl sulfate] indicates its stronger hydrophobicity. Received: 15 May 2000 Accepted: 18 October 2000     

Synthesis and Evaluation of Ethoxylated Alkyl Sulfosuccinates as Oil Spill Dispersants

The surface properties particularly, Krafft point, foam stability and emulsion stability for the synthesized series of ethoxylated sodium monoalkyl (octyl-, dodecyl-, and cetyl-) sulfosuccinate surfactants were investigated comparing with those of sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate. The prepared surfactants were evaluated as oil spill dispersants using screen test method. The results show that, the ethylene oxide units in the mixed moiety surfactant system (anionic–nonionic) effect on the depression of the Krafft point. Also, the increasing of ethylene oxide units in the prepared surfactants decreases the foam ability of these surfactants. The results of emulsion stability show that, the increasing in ethylene oxide units owing to the emulsion stability decreases. The prepared surfactants show a dispersion capability at different content of ethylene oxide units (9, 14, 23, and 90) and at different concentrations. The dispersion capability for these surfactants in the sea water is better than in the fresh water. The results show that, the increase of ethylene oxide units increases the dispersion efficiency of the synthesized surfactants.     

Interfacial and micellar properties of anionic azo dye-surfactant binary systems

The association of an anionic dye C.I. Reactive Orange 16 (RO16) and different types of surfactants, i.e., anionic surfactant sodium dodecylsulfate, nonionic surfactants poly(oxyethylene) ethers (C _m POE₁₀, m = 12, 16, and 18; C₁₂POE _n , n = 4, 10, and 23), was investigated using tensiometry in a certain micellar concentration range. RO16 was shown to aggregate in water when its concentration is above the threshold value. The surface tension lowering and critical micellar concentration (CMC) values were interpreted on the same grounds as those for surfactants mixtures. The tensiometric measurements of dye-surfactant systems are carried out as a function of the molar concentration of solution at 25°C. Using Rubingh’s regular solution theory, the values of interaction parameters were found to be negative for all studied binary mixtures. These negative values indicate that there is an attractive interaction of the surfactants in mixed micelles and reflect synergistic behavior of a mixture. In all studied systems, deviations from ideal behavior were observed depending on the type of surfactant. Interaction parameters calculated using regular solution theory are changed from −2.62 to −12.43. The smallest deviation from ideal behavior is obtained for the RO16-C₁₂POE₄ mixed system; i.e., in the case when nonionic surfactant has the shortest alkyl chain and the smallest number of ethylene oxide units. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Small-angle neutron-scattering study of bis(quaternaryammonium bromide) surfactant micelles in water. Effect of the long spacer chain on micellar structure

The microstructure of the normal micelles formed by dimeric surfactants with long spacers, [Br⁻(CH₃)₂N⁺(C _m H_{2 m +1})-(CH₂) _S  -(C _m H_{2 m +1})N⁺(CH₃)₂Br⁻, m = 10 and s = 8, 10 and 12], has been investigated by small-angle neutron scattering and compared with previously reported results for micelles of the same dimeric surfactants with shorter spacers (m = 10 and s = 2, 3, 4 and 6). It was found that for dimeric surfactants with long spacers (s = 8 and 10), both micellar growth and variation in shape occur to only a small extent, if at all, compared with dimeric surfactants with short spacers. However, for the dimeric surfactant with the longest spacer, s = 12, the extent of micellar growth and shape variation is also large. These results are due to the differences in conformation of dimeric surfactants with short spacers (s = 2–6) compared with that of the surfactants with long spacers (s = 8–12). Received: 15 June 1998 Accepted: 22 July 1998     

Effects of additives on the cloud points of selected nonionic linear ethoxylated alcohol surfactants

Effects of various additives including inorganic salts, nonionic and ionic surfactants, water-soluble polymers and alcohols on the cloud points of three linear nonionic surfactants, Tergitol 15-S-7, Tergitol 15-S-9 and Neodol 25-7, were investigated. These surfactants are readily biodegradable and either linear primary or secondary ethoxylated alcohols. Cloud points of these surfactants were functions of their concentrations and concentrations of additives. The cloud points of nonionic surfactant mixtures lay in between the cloud points of individual component surfactants. Presence of two ionic surfactants, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), increased the cloud point of 1 wt% Tergitol 15-S-7 micellar solution dramatically when concentrations of ionic surfactants approaching their critical micelle concentration. Addition of water-soluble polymers decreased the cloud point, while addition of inorganic salts can either increase or decrease the cloud points. However, the effect of an alcohol additive on cloud point was dependent on its chain length or its water solubility. Interestingly, synergistic effects between sulfate or phosphate and pentanol on depression of cloud points of Tergitol 15-S-9 were discovered. A linear model predicting cloud points of Tergitol 15-S-X (X = 7, 9 and 12) surfactants and Neodol 25-X (X = 7, 9 and 12) surfactants were proposed with a correlation to logarithm of their ethylene oxide numbers.     

Cyclic voltammetry and viscosity measurements of aggregated assemblies of anionic surfactants with nonionic surfactants and triblock copolymers

Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and viscosity measurements have been employed to study the aggregation behavior of mixed micellar systems of anionic surfactant (dioctyl sulfosuccinate sodium salt, AOT) with conventional nonionic surfactants such as Brij 35/TritonX-100/Tween 20/Tween 80/Myrj 45 and two triblock copolymers (L64 and F68). Critical micelle concentration (cmc) values have been determined for various micellar systems from CV measurements using 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy (TEMPO) as an electroactive probe at 25 °C. Diffusion coefficient (D) has been evaluated from Randles–Sevcik equation which showed an overall decrease for most of the binary systems. The negative values of interaction parameters (β) obtained from regular solution theory suggest the synergistic behavior in all the binary systems except AOT + Tween 80 mixtures. The mixed systems of AOT with triblock copolymers showed stronger synergistic interactions than that of mixed systems of AOT with nonionic surfactants. A comparative evaluation of mixed systems of anionic surfactants AOT and sodium dodecyl sulfate with Myrj 45 and AOT + L64 and F68 has been made on the basis of different micellar parameters and structural properties of surfactants. Viscosity measurements also show similar type of interactions in the mixed micelles.     

High solids simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of pretreated wheat straw to ethanol

Wheat straw was pretreated with dilute (0.5%) sulfuric acid at 140°C for 1 h. Pretreated straw solids were washed with deionized water to neutrality and then stored frozen at –20°C. The approximate composition of the pretreated straw solids was 64% cellulose, 33% lignin, and 2% xylan. The cellulose in the pretreated wheat straw solids was converted to ethanol in batch simultaneous saccharification and fermentation experiments at 37°C using cellulase enzyme fromTrichoderma reesei (Genencor 150 L) with or without supplementation with β–glucosidase fromAspergillus niger (Novozyme 188) to produce glucose sugar and the yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiae to ferment the glucose into ethanol. The initial cellulose concentrations were adjusted to 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5, and 20% (w/w). Since wheat straw particles do not form slurries at these concentrations and cannot be mixed with conventional impeller mixers used in laboratory fermenters, a simple rotary fermenter was designed and fabricated for these experiments. The results of the simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) experiments indicate that the cellulose in pretreated wheat straw can be efficiently fermented into ethanol for up to a 15% cellulose concentration (24.4% straw concentration).     

Solubility of LIDOCAINE in Ionic, Nonionic and Zwitterionic Surfactants

The solubility of an anesthetic drug, LIDOCAINE, in water was investigated in the presence of ionic, nonionic and zwitterionic surfactants at 25 °C, and the solubility was found to increase linearly with the surfactant concentration. The molar solubilization ratio, R _m,s, and Gibbs free energy, DG_s^o\Delta G_{\mathrm{s}}^{\mathrm{o}} values for nonionic surfactants fall in the order DDAO > Brij 35 > Brij 30, whereas for ionic and zwitterionic surfactants the order is DDAPS > DTAB > SDS. The high negative values of the Gibbs energies in the cases of DDAO and DDAPS prove them to be better surfactants for solubilizing this drug as compared to the other surfactants.     

Swelling of hydrophobically modified poly(acrylamide) and poly(acrylamide)-co-(acrylic acid) gels in surfactant solutions

A series of hydrophobically modified polyacrylamide and polyacrylamide-co-poly(acrylic acid) gels with systematically varying hydrophobicity were prepared by free-radical polymerization of acrylamide, n-alkylacrylamides (n = 10, 12, and 14), and acrylic acid. The swelling of these gels was examined in water and in both anionic and cationic surfactant solutions. It was found that the gels which incorporated acrylic acid showed extremely high swelling in water. Maximum swelling was observed in gels which incorporated 10 mol% acrylic acid. The swelling of these gels was much less in solutions of both anionic and cationic surfactants than in water. The gels which did not incorporate acrylic acid demonstrated little swelling in water, but showed increased swelling in both anionic and cationic surfactant solutions with increased hydrophobicity of the gel. Received: 1 February 1999 Accepted in revised form: 5 March 1999     

Effects of Salts on the Micellization of a Short-Tailed Nonionic Ethoxylated Surfactant: An Intradiffusion Study

In commercial formulations, surfactants are often co-formulated with inorganic electrolytes, which are included as inexpensive thickeners. Salts affect the surfactant’s aggregative and functional behavior. However, while the electrolyte effect on the self-aggregation of ionic surfactants can be rationalized in terms of electrostatic interactions, in the case of nonionic surfactants the molecular determinants are still unclear. In this work, we investigate the effects of alkali and alkaline–earth metal chlorides on the micellization of the nonionic surfactant hexyl penta(oxyethylene) ether, C₆E₅, in aqueous solution. To this aim, the C₆E₅ intradiffusion (also named self-diffusion) coefficient in aqueous mixtures of various alkali and alkaline–earth metal chlorides was measured by pulsed gradient spin-echo NMR. The results show that all the considered electrolytes cause a decrease of the surfactant critical micellar concentration, cmc, while the micellar size is almost unaffected. The experimental evidence can be interpreted in terms of de-hydration of the apolar alkyl tails with a minor contribution arising from the dehydration of the poly(ethylene oxide) headgroups. The order of effectiveness of the different cations follows the Hofmeister series, some aspects of which are briefly discussed.     

Enhancement of enzymatic digestibility of recycled newspaper by addition of surfactant in ammonia-hydrogen peroxide pretreatment

The effect of surfactant on enzymatic digestibility was investigated during the pretreatment stage. Newspaper was pretreated with an ammonia-hydrogen peroxide mixture on a shaking bath at 40°C and 130 strokes/min for 3 h. Two kinds of nonionic surfactants, NP series and Tween series, were utilized. The effect of hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB) value of both series surfactants on digestibility was found to be negligible, even though de-inking efficiency was improved as HLB value was increased. The effect of surfactant loading on digestibility was small, below 0.5 wt%, and negligible above 0.5 wt% at 60 international filter paper units (IFPU). The percentage improvement in digestibility increased as enzyme loading decreased. Digestibility of NP-5-added sample relative to control sample, increased significantly at an enzyme loading <60 IFPU, i.e., 19 and 13% at 15 and 30 IFPU, respectively. Such an increase in digestibility was not explained clearly from the experimental results. It was also found that ink removal before enzymatic hydrolysis is very important to enhance digestibility.     

Phase behavior of water/oil/nonionic surfactants with normal distribution of the poly(ethylene oxide) chain length

The phase behavior of systems consisting of water/n-hexane/polyethoxylated nonionic surfactants with a normal distribution of ethylene oxide (EO) chain length has been investigated. The surfactants used were octylphenol ethoxylated with eight EO units and nonylphenol ethoxylated with seven and ten EO units. The oil/water weight ratio was keep constant at 1, whereas the amount of surfactant and the temperature were variables. The pseudobinary phase diagrams were used to find out the triphasic bodies on the temperature scale, the tricritical points and the effect of electrolyte on them. The presence of electrolyte and the increase in surfactant hydrophobicity promote the phase inversion.     

Ethanol Production from Cashew Apple Bagasse: Improvement of Enzymatic Hydrolysis by Microwave-Assisted Alkali Pretreatment

In this work, the potential of microwave-assisted alkali pretreatment in order to improve the rupture of the recalcitrant structures of the cashew able bagasse (CAB), lignocellulosic by-product in Brazil with no commercial value, is obtained from cashew apple process to juice production, was studied. First, biomass composition of CAB was determined, and the percentage of glucan and lignin was 20.54 ± 0.70% and 33.80 ± 1.30%, respectively. CAB content in terms of cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin, 19.21 ± 0.35%, 12.05 ± 0.37%, and 38.11 ± 0.08%, respectively, was also determined. Results showed that, after enzymatic hydrolysis, alkali concentration exerted influence on glucose formation, after pretreatment with 0.2 and 1.0 mo L⁻¹ of NaOH (372 ± 12 and 355 ± 37 mg g_glucan⁻¹) when 2% (w/v) of cashew apple bagasse pretreated by microwave-assisted alkali pretreatment (CAB-M) was used. On the other hand, pretreatment time (15–30 min) and microwave power (600–900 W) exerted no significant effect on hydrolysis. On enzymatic hydrolysis step, improvement on solid percentage (16% w/v) and enzyme load (30 FPU g_CAB-M⁻¹) increased glucose concentration to 15 g L⁻¹. The fermentation of the hydrolyzate by Saccharomyces cerevesiae resulted in ethanol concentration and productivity of 5.6 g L⁻¹ and 1.41 g L⁻¹ h⁻¹, respectively.     

Effects of nonionic surfactant and sodium dodecyl sulfate layers on electroacoustics of hexadecane/water emulsions

Hexadecane-in-water emulsion droplets were formed in a homogeniser in the presence of a mixture of an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS) and nonionic surfactants of various chain lengths [nonylphenol ethoxylate (C₉φE_N, N=100, 40 and 30) or an alcohol ethoxylate (Brij35)]. The dynamic mobility of the oil droplets was then measured using a flow-through version of an AcoustoSizer. Large changes were observed in the dynamic mobility of the particles formed with the mixed surfactants compared to particles formed with SDS alone. O'Brien's “gel layer” model was employed to interpret the data. The characteristics of the adsorbed layer appeared to be similar whether the nonionic surfactant was adsorbed concurrently with the SDS as the emulsion formed or was merely added afterwards to the emulsion established. The particle size, the charge and the molar fraction of SDS had virtually no effect. The layers formed with the nonionic surfactants decreased in thickness with decreasing molecular weight as expected. Passage through the homogeniser itself had no effect on the properties of the largest nonionic surfactant and, hence, on the adsorption layer formed with it. Received: 4 October 2000 Accepted: 16 October 2000     

Synthesis of poly[2-(perfluorooctyl)ethyl acrylate-<Emphasis Type="Italic">co</Emphasis>-poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate] and its control of enzyme activity in supercritical carbon dioxide

Poly[2-(perfluorooctyl)ethyl acrylate-co-poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate], P(POA-co-PEGm) was prepared as a new surfactant for scCO₂. The random copolymer was obtained by the radical polymerization of 2-(perfluorooctyl)ethyl acrylate (POA) and poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (PEGm) in DMF. The molar ratio of the POA and PEGm units in the copolymer was POA/PEGm = 0.972/0.028 by ¹H NMR. The molecular weight and molecular weight distribution were estimated by size exclusion chromatography to be Mn = 133,000 and Mw/Mn = 8.25, respectively. It was suggested that the copolymer formed micellar aggregates with the cores of the PEGm chains in scCO₂, based on the analyses of the copolymer in hexafluorobenzene by ¹H NMR and dynamic light scattering. The copolymer was soluble in scCO₂ and had a cloud point at a much higher pressure than the critical pressure. It was found that the copolymer solubilized CO₂-insoluble proteins such as bovine serum albumin and subtilisin Carlsberg in scCO₂. The solubility of the copolymer was not influenced by the presence of the proteins; however, the solubility decreased in the presence of a small amount of water along with the protein. The activity of the subtilisin slightly decreased when only placed in scCO₂, whereas a marked decrease in the activity was observed for the subtilisin in the presence of the copolymer in scCO₂. The subtilisin activity decreased as the CO₂ pressure increased.