Adsorption and surface rheology of n-dodecanol at the water/air interface

Anti-staphylococcal activity and mode of action of thioridazine photoproducts

Antibiotic resistance became an increasing risk for population health threatening our ability to fight infectious diseases. The objective of this study was to evaluate the activity of laser irradiated thioridazine (TZ) against clinically-relevant bacteria in view to fight antibiotic resistance. TZ in ultrapure water solutions was irradiated (1–240 min) with 266 nm pulsed laser radiation. Irradiated solutions were characterized by UV–Vis and FTIR absorption spectroscopy, thin layer chromatography, laser-induced fluorescence, and dynamic surface tension measurements. Molecular docking studies were made to evaluate the molecular mechanisms of photoproducts action against Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA. More general, solutions were evaluated for their antimicrobial and efflux inhibitory activity against a panel of bacteria of clinical relevance. We observed an enhanced antimicrobial activity of TZ photoproducts against Gram-positive bacteria. This was higher than ciprofloxacin effects for methicillin- and ciprofloxacin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Molecular docking showed the Penicillin-binding proteins PBP3 and PBP2a inhibition by sulforidazine as a possible mechanism of action against Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA strains, respectively. Irradiated TZ reveals possible advantages in the treatment of infectious diseases produced by antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive bacteria. TZ repurposing and its photoproducts, obtained by laser irradiation, show accelerated and low-costs of development if compared to chemical synthesis.

Dynamics of Competitive Adsorption of Lipase and Ionic Surfactants at the Water-Air Interface

Lipase is one of the most important enzymes playing a key role in many biological and chemical processes, in particular for fat hydrolysis in living systems and technological applications such as food production, medicine, and biodiesel production. As lipase is soluble in water, the major hydrolysis process occurs at the water-oil interface, where lipase can get in contact with the oil. To provide optimum conditions, the emulsification of the oil is essential to provide a large interfacial area which is generally done by adding surfactants. However, the presence of surfactants can influence the lipase activity and also cause competitive adsorption, resulting in a removal of lipase from the interface or its conformational changes in the solution bulk. Here we have studied the dynamics of competitive adsorption and interfacial elasticity of mixed solutions containing lipase and the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) or the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), respectively, at the water-air interface. The experiments were performed with a special coaxial double capillary setup for drop bulk-interface exchange developed for the drop profile analysis tensiometer PAT with two protocols: sequential and simultaneous adsorption of single components and mixed systems. The results in terms of dynamic surface tension and dilational viscoelasticity illustrate fast and complete desorption of a preadsorbed CTAB and SDS layers via subphase exchange with a buffer solution. In contrast, the preadsorbed lipase layer cannot be removed either by SDS or CTAB from the interface during drop bulk exchange with a buffer solution due to the unfolding process and conformation evolution of the protein molecules at the interface. In the opposite case, lipase can remove preadsorbed SDS and CTAB. The dynamic surface tension and viscoelasticity data measured before and after subphase exchange show joint adsorption of lipase and CTAB in the form of complexes, while SDS is adsorbed in competition with lipase. The results are in good correlation with the determined surface charges of the lipase gained by computational simulations which show a dominant negatively charged surface for lipase that can interact with the cationic CTAB while partial positively charged regions are observed for the interaction with the anionic SDS.

Adsorption of Ions at Uncharged Insoluble Monolayers

A method is proposed for the experimental determination of the adsorption of inorganic electrolytes at a surface covered with insoluble surfactant monolayer. This task is complicated by the fact that the change of the salt concentration alters both chemical potentials of the electrolyte and the surfactant. Our method resolves the question by combining data for the surface pressure versus area of the monolayer at several salt concentrations with data for the equilibrium spreading pressure of crystals of the surfactant (used to fix a standard state). We applied the method to alcohols spread at the surface of concentrated halide solutions. The measured salt adsorption is positive and has nonmonotonic dependence on the area per surfactant molecule. For the liquid expanded film, depending on the concentration, there is one couple of ions adsorbed per each 3-30 surfactant molecules. We analyzed which ion, the positive or the negative, stands closer to the surface, by measuring the effect of NaCl on the Volta potential of the monolayer. The potentiometric data suggest that Na(+) is specifically adsorbed, while Cl(-) remains in the diffuse layer, i.e., the surface is positively charged. The observed reverse Hofmeister series of the adsorptions of NaF, NaCl, and NaBr suggests the same conclusion holds for all these salts. The force that causes the adsorption of Na(+) seems to be the interaction of the ion with the dipole moment of the monolayer.

Ion-selective Marangoni instability coupled with the nonlinear adsorption/desorption rate

An oil/water interface containing bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphate and Ca(2+) or Fe(3+) exhibits spontaneous Marangoni instability associated with the fluctuation in interfacial tension. This instability rarely appears for oil/water systems with Mg(2+), Sr(2+), Ba(2+), Cu(2+), or Co(2+). The same ion selectivity is observed for n-heptane and nitrobenzene despite their significant differences in density, viscosity, and the dielectric constant of oil. We studied this instability under acidic pH conditions to avoid the neutralization reaction effects. The result of the equilibrium interfacial tension and the extraction ratio of cations indicates that a large number of oil-soluble complexes form at the interfaces of Ca(2+)-containing systems and probably for Fe(3+)-containing systems. The results obtained by oscillating drop tensiometry and Brewster angle microscopy indicate that desorption, rather than adsorption, is more significant to the onset of instability and that the resulting complex tends to form aggregates in the interface. This aggregation gives the nonlinear desorption rate of the oil-soluble complex. Then, exfoliation of the aggregating matter occurs, which triggers the Marangoni instability. The induced convection removes the oil-soluble complex accumulated at the interface, creating a renewed interface, which is necessary for the successive occurrence of the Marangoni instability. For the other cations, the oil-soluble compounds are insignificant, and they rarely form aggregates. In such cases, adsorption/desorption proceeds without instability.

Studies of the rate of water evaporation through adsorption layers using drop shape analysis tensiometry

With modified measuring procedure and measuring cell design in the drop profile tensiometer PAT, it became possible to study the rate of water evaporation through adsorbed or spread surface layers. This method was employed to measure the rate of water evaporation from drops covered by adsorbed layers of some proteins and surfactants, in particular n-dodecanol. It was shown that the formation of dense (double or condensed) adsorbed layers of protein and the formation of 2D-condensed n-dodecanol layer decrease the water evaporation rate by 20-25% as compared with pure water. At the same time, the adsorbed layers of ordinary surfactants (sodium dodecyl sulfate and nonionic ethoxylated surfactant C(14)EO(8)) do not affect the water evaporation rate remarkably.

Influence of surface processes on the dilational visco-elasticity of surfactant solutions

The mechanical properties of liquid-fluid systems, like the dynamic interfacial tension and interfacial rheology are closely related to the kinetic processes involved and to the behaviour of the adsorbed molecules. Therefore, provided suitable models and experimental methods are set, investigating these properties allows qualitative and quantitative information on these processes to be drawn. This paper presents recent developments in dilational rheology of liquid-fluid adsorption layers, including experimental methods, models and experimental data concerned with surfactants undergoing transformations in the adsorption layer. Models account both for relaxation due to surfactant diffusion and to processes internal to the adsorption layer. In particular surfactant reorientation, aggregation phase transitions and interfacial chemical reactions have been considered as possible reorganisation processes. The presented approach, allows the dilational viscoelasticity to be derived as a function of the perturbation frequency and of the equilibrium and kinetic parameters of the system. The results can also be easily specified for insoluble monolayer. The principal experimental techniques are reviewed and the recent progresses in the implementation of an Oscillation Bubble/Drop method for Capillary Pressure Tensiometer are discussed in detail. Two experimental studies of surfactants characterised by re-orientation and aggregation phase transition are presented. Beside providing a wider comprehension of these mechanisms, the interpretation of the dilational visco-elasticity data, according to the developed models, allows the effective estimation of the equilibrium and kinetic parameters.

Relating foam lamella stability and surface dilational rheology

The surface dilational elasticity module E of a soluble cationic surfactant at the air-water interface is measured in a frequency range of 1-500 Hz. The data are then correlated with the lifetime of a foam lamella formed with the same surfactant solution. The surface rheological measurement have been performed with an improved design of the oscillating bubble technique that measures precisely the real and imaginary part of the complex dilational module E. The imaginary part captures a dissipative process which is interpreted as an intrinsic surface dilational viscosity kappa. The cationic surfactant 1-dodecyl-4-dimethylaminopyridinium bromide shows a transition between a surface elastic to a viscoelastic behavior with an increase of the bulk concentration. The transition corresponds to a striking increase in the lifetime of the foam lamella. The lamella lifetime of the viscoelastic system exceeds the one of an elastic system by 2 orders of magnitude while the absolute value of the E module remains comparable. The results suggest that surface dilational viscosity kappa is crucial for the ability of a surfactant system to form a stable foam. A simple picture that explains this observation is discussed.