Nanosized mixed aggregates of alkylated <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-sulfonatocalix[<Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>]arenes and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide: self-organization and catalytic activity

Self-organization and catalytic activity of supramolecular systems based on a series of O-alkylated p-sulfonatocalixn]arenes (SCA: n = 4, 6, 8; R = Bu, Oct, Dod (Oct is octyl, Dod is dodecyl)) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) were studied by dynamic light scattering, tensimetry, and spectrophotometry. In aqueous solutions containing SCA (10^-6-10^-4 mol L^-1) and CTAB (10^-2-10^-12 mol L^-1), mixed associates and SCA—CTAB micelles are formed in a wide concentration range. Their sizes (100–300 nm), properties, and reactivity depend mainly on the structure and concentration of the starting components, as well as on the nature of their associates in solutions. A relationship between the nonlinear concentration dependences of the sizes of SCA—CTAB micelles (SCA: n = 4, 6, 8; R = Dod) and their catalytic activity in the hydrolysis of _O-ethyl _O-(4-nitrophenyl) chloromethylphosphonate was established. The study of the physiological effect on plant cells in solutions of SCA (n = 6; R = Dod), CTAB, and their mixtures showed that SCA and CTAB exerted opposite effects on the energy exchange in the wheat root cells, while a mixed solution of these substances (1: 1) has almost no effect on the physiological state of the roots, which is due to the formation of stable CTAB—SCA aggregates that protect the biosystem from the action of the starting components.