Mixed aqueous solutions of nonionic surfactants Brij 35/Triton X-100: Micellar properties, solutes' partitioning from micellar liquid chromatography and modelling with COSMOmic

Local Structure of Nonuniform Fluid Mixtures Containing Associating and Chainlike Molecules from a Multilayer Quasichemical Model

In this work, we develop a theory for predicting details of the local structure in nonuniform multicomponent fluids that may contain chainlike and associating components. This theory is an extension─to the fluid interfaces and mesoscopic structures of different geometry─of the multilayer quasichemical model originally proposed by Smirnova to describe liquid solution in the vicinity of a planar solid wall. The basis of the theory is the "cut-and-bond" approach, much in spirit of SAFT, where an infinite attraction between the separated monomeric units of a chainlike molecule mimics the chemical bonds of the chain. We describe the equilibrium structure of the mixture, including the spatial distribution of the monomeric units and the local orientation of the chemical bonds in chainlike molecules, and discuss the contribution of chemical bonds to the local chemical potential in a nonuniform fluid. To test the new theory, we apply it to mixtures containing combinations of model components: a strongly associating solvent, an inert substance of varying chain length, and a chainlike amphiphile. To compare predictions from the multilayer model with the results of continuous description of nonuniform fluids, we also address the square-gradient theory and derive an analytical expression for the influence parameter that takes into account pair correlations in the quasichemical approximation. The multilayer quasichemical model developed in this work predicts formation of aggregates in liquid solution and describes the local structure of the interfaces between the coexisting liquid phases in the mixture. Our theoretical predictions agree on a qualitative level with the accumulated knowledge about the structure of different types of systems studied in this work.

Salting out, non-ideality and synergism enhance surfactant efficiency in atmospheric aerosols

In Earth's atmosphere, the surface tension of sub-micron aerosol particles is suspected to affect their efficiency in becoming cloud droplets. But this quantity cannot be measured directly and is inferred from the chemical compounds present in aerosols. Amphiphilic surfactants have been evidenced in aerosols but experimental information on the surface properties of their mixtures with other aerosol components is lacking. This work explores experimentally the surface properties of aqueous mixtures of amphiphilic surfactants (SDS, Brij35, TritonX100, TritonX114, and CTAC) with inorganic salts (NaCl, (NH4)2SO4) and soluble organic acids (oxalic and glutaric acid) using pendant droplet tensiometry. Contrary to what could be expected, inorganic salts and organic acids systematically enhanced the efficiency of the surfactants rather than reduced it, by further lowering the surface tension and, in some cases, the CMC. Furthermore, all the mixtures studied were strongly non-ideal, some even displaying some synergism, thus demonstrating that the common assumption of ideality for aerosol mixtures is not valid. The molecular interactions between the mixture components were either in the bulk (salting out), in the mixed surface monolayer (synergy on the surface tension) or in the micelles (synergy on the CMC) and need to be included when describing such aerosol mixtures.

Development of a sensitive MEKC-LIF method for synthetic cathinones analysis

Synthetic cathinones are phenylalkylamine compounds related to natural cathinone from Catha edulis leaves. Due to their sympathomimetic effects comparable to common illicit drugs, these substances are mainly drugs of abuse and constitute the second most frequently seized group of new psychoactive substances. In order to ensure their regulation and to promote public health, reliable analytical tools are required to track these substances. In the present study, we developed a CE hyphenated to laser-induced fluorescence detection method to demonstrate its suitability to perform fast and cost-effective synthetic cathinones analysis. Fourteen compounds including isobaric compounds and position isomers were selected to encompass the large panel of chemical structures. To separate the FITC-labeled analytes (presenting the same negative charge and close mass to charge ratios), MEKC separation mode was selected. Method selectivity was not suitable using common surfactants. In this context, alkyl polyethylene glycol ether surfactants were successfully used as neutral surfactant to overcome this analytical challenge. The effect of surfactant nature on separation performances and migration behaviors of the analytes was also studied. Optimal BGE composition included 75 mM borate buffer at pH 9.3 and 0.4 mM of C12E10 surfactant. Final MEKC separation conditions were proposed to analyze a large panel of synthetic cathinones. This method helped to reach a sensitivity with LOD from 0.1 to 0.4 nM (pg/mL order).

Solvent-free mixed micellar mobile phases: An advanced green chemistry approach for reversed-phase HPLC determination of some antihypertensive drugs

Minimizing the amount of organic solvents without loss in chromatographic performance has been an important step toward greening analytical methodologies. Mobile-phase composition is the key for maintaining separation efficiency in liquid chromatography while decreasing the procedure hazardousness. If sodium dodecyl sulfate is mixed with Brij-35 in the mobile phase, they could be used as a green alternative for using organic modifiers. In this research, the effect of changing the relative amounts of both surfactants was studied on the chromatographic performance and separation efficiency of ten antihypertensive drugs belonging to different categories. The use of surfactants has many advantages including low cost and toxicity, safe environmental disposal, unique selectivity besides high solubilization capabilities. The optimum separation was maintained using a mobile phase (0.01 M Brij-35, 0.08 M sodium dodecyl sulfate and 0.01 M sodium dihydrogen phosphate/pH 5) on reversed-phase C18 core-shell column at flow rate 1.5 mL/min and temperature 30°C. The method was successfully applied for the determination of the drugs in various marketed dosage forms. International Conference of Harmonization guidelines were followed to validate the developed method. Additionally, the method was verified on the Green Analytical Procedure Index in regards to the greenness and found to be an excellent green alternative method.

Predicting Partition Coefficients of Neutral and Charged Solutes in the Mixed SLES-Fatty Acid Micellar System

Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) and fatty acids are common ingredients in many cosmetic products. Understanding how neutral and charged fatty acid compounds partition between micellar and water phases is crucial to achieve the optimal design of the product formulation. In this paper, we first study the formation of mixed SLES and fatty acid micelles using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Micelle/water partition coefficients of neutral and charged fatty acids are then calculated using COSMOmic as well as a MD approach based on the potential of mean force (PMF) calculations performed using umbrella sampling (US). The combined US/PMF approach was performed with both the additive, non-polarizable CHARMM general force field (CGenFF) and the classical Drude polarizable force field. The partition coefficients for the neutral solutes are shown to be accurately calculated with the COSMOmic and additive CGenFF US/PMF approaches, while only the US/PMF approach with the Drude polarizable force field accurately calculated the experimental partition coefficient of the charged solute. These results indicate the utility of the Drude polarizable force field as a tool for the rational development of mixed micelles.

Quantifying non-specific interactions via liquid chromatography

Determinations of solute-cosolute interactions from chromatography have often resulted in problems, such as the "antibinding" (or a negative binding constant) between the solute and micelle in micellar liquid chromatography (MLC) or indeterminacy of salt-ligand binding strength in high-performance affinity chromatography (HPAC). This shows that the stoichiometric binding models adopted in many chromatographic analyses cannot capture the non-specific nature of solvation interactions. In contrast, an approach using statistical thermodynamics handles these complexities without such problems and directly links chromatographic data to, for example, solubility data via a universal framework based on Kirkwood-Buff integrals (KBI) of the radial distribution functions. The chromatographic measurements can now be interpreted within this universal theoretical framework that has been used to rationalize small solute solubility, biomolecular stability, binding, aggregation and gelation. In particular, KBI analysis identifies key solute-cosolute interactions, including excluded volume effects. We present (i) how KBI can be obtained directly from the cosolute concentration dependence of the distribution coefficient, (ii) how the classical binding model, when used solely as a fitting model, can yield the KBIs directly from the literature data, and (iii) how chromatography and solubility measurements can be compared in the unified theoretical framework provided via KBIs without any arbitrary assumptions about the stationary phase. To perform our own analyses on multiple datasets we have used an "app". To aid readers' understanding and to allow analyses of their own datasets, the app is provided with many datasets and is freely available on-line as an open-source resource.