Computer simulations of solute exchange using micelles by a collision-driven fusion process

In this work, the kinetic process of collision-driven solute exchange in an aqueous phase in which micelles are used as solute carriers is investigated by dissipative particle dynamics simulations. Here, we try to answer two questions about the exchange process of hydrophobic solute molecules: How the solute molecules are exchanged and what factors affect the process. For the first question, the simulation results indicate that, after a stage of intermittent collision between two neighboring aggregates, there are roughly three sequential events in a coalescence stage: (1) molecular contact, (2) neck formation, and (3) neck growth. The coalescence stage is followed by a stage of solute transfer and diffusion. It is found that there are two rate-limiting steps in the whole process of solute exchange, i.e., the break of the water film between two neighboring aggregates and the nucleation of a pore between two surfactant films. For the second question, the effects of the collision velocity, the surface tension, the repulsive interaction between the surfactant films of the colliding aggregates, as well as the steric repulsion are examined. For example, the simulation results show that the depletion force plays an important role during the coalescence stage, while the initial collision velocity basically does not change the fusion ratio. The results also demonstrate that the surface tension and interaction show different effects on the different stages of a solute exchange process.