Biscationic bicephalic (double-headed) amphiphiles with an aromatic spacer and a single hydrophobic tail

Gemini and Bicephalous Surfactants: A Review on Their Synthesis, Micelle Formation, and Uses

The use of surfactants in polymerization reactions is particularly important, mainly in emulsion polymerizations. Further, micelles from biocompatible surfactants find use in pharmaceutical dosage forms. This paper reviews recent developments in the synthesis of novel gemini and bicephalous surfactants, micelle formation, and their applications in polymer and nanoparticle synthesis, oil recovery, catalysis, corrosion, protein binding, and biomedical area, particularly in drug delivery.

An Investigation into Rigidity-Activity Relationships in BisQAC Amphiphilic Antiseptics

Twenty-one mono- and biscationic quaternary ammonium amphiphiles (monoQACs and bisQACs) were rapidly prepared in order to investigate the effects of rigidity of a diamine core structure on antiseptic activity. As anticipated, the bioactivity against a panel of six bacteria including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains was strong for bisQAC structures, and is clearly correlated with the length of non-polar side chains. Modest advantages were noted for amide-containing side chains, as compared with straight-chained alkyl substituents. Surprisingly, antiseptics with more rigidly disposed side chains, such as those in DABCO-12,12, showed the highest level of antimicrobial activity, with single-digit MIC values or better against the entire bacterial panel, including sub-micromolar activity against an MRSA strain.

Hydra amphiphiles: Using three heads and one tail to influence aggregate formation and to kill pathogenic bacteria

Hydra amphiphiles mimic the morphology of the mythical multi-headed creatures for which they are named. Likewise, when faced with a pathogenic bacterium, some hydra derivatives are as destructive as their fabled counterparts were to their adversaries. This report focuses on eight new tricephalic (triple-headed), single-tailed amphiphiles. Each amphiphile has a mesitylene (1,3,5-trimethylbenzene) core, two benzylic trimethylammonium groups and one dimethylalkylammonium group with a linear hydrophobe ranging from short (C₈H₁₇) to ultralong (C₂₂H₄₅). The logarithm of the critical aggregation concentration, log(CAC), decreases linearly with increasing tail length, but with a smaller dependence than that of ionic amphiphiles with fewer head groups. Tail length also affects antibacterial activity; amphiphiles with a linear 18 or 20 carbon atom hydrophobic chain are more effective at killing bacteria than those with shorter or longer chains. Comparison to a recently reported amphiphilic series with three heads and two tails allows for the development of an understanding of the relationship between number of tails and both colloidal and antibacterial properties.

Colloidal and antibacterial properties of novel triple-headed, double-tailed amphiphiles: exploring structure-activity relationships and synergistic mixtures

Two novel series of tris-cationic, tripled-headed, double-tailed amphiphiles were synthesized and the effects of tail length and head group composition on the critical aggregation concentration (CAC), thermodynamic parameters, and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against six bacterial strains were investigated. Synergistic antibacterial combinations of these amphiphiles were also identified. Amphiphiles in this study are composed of a benzene core with three benzylic ammonium bromide groups, two of which have alkyl chains, each 8-16 carbons in length. The third head group is a trimethylammonium or pyridinium. Log of critical aggregation concentration (log[CAC]) and heat of aggregation (ΔHagg) were both inversely proportional to the length of the linear hydrocarbon chains. Antibacterial activity increases with tail length until an optimal tail length of 12 carbons per chain, above which, activity decreased. The derivatives with two 12 carbon chains had the best antibacterial activity, killing all tested strains at concentrations of 1-2μM for Gram-positive and 4-16μM for Gram-negative bacteria. The identity of the third head group (trimethylammonium or pyridinium) had minimal effect on colloidal and antibacterial activity. The antibacterial activity of several binary combinations of amphiphiles from this study was higher than activity of individual amphiphiles, indicating that these combinations are synergistic. These amphiphiles show promise as novel antibacterial agents that could be used in a variety of applications.

Ecotoxicity and biodegradability of antielectrostatic dicephalic cationic surfactants

Four series of dicephalic cationic surfactants, considered as new antielectrostatic agents have been investigated in order to establish their toxicity and biodegradability. Among them N,N-bis[3,3'-(dimethylamine)propyl]alkylamides, N,N-bis[3,3'-(dimethylamine)propyl]alkylamide dihydrochlorides, N,N-bis[3,3'-(trimethylammonio)propyl]alkylamide dibromides and N,N-bis[3,3'-(trimethylammonio)propyl]alkylamide dimethylsulphates with different hydrophobic chain length (n-C(9)H(19) to n-C(15)H(31)) and type of counterion (chloride, bromide and methylsulfate) have been studied. The inhibitory effect against microorganisms has been examined using model gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, and yeasts. None of the tested surfactants have shown antimicrobial activity against gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas putida) and yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Rhodotorula glutinis) at a concentration below 1000 μg mL(-1), however some of them were moderately active against gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis). The Microtox® test was successfully applied to measure EC(50) values of the studied dicephalic cationic surfactants. Their toxicity to Vibrio fischeri depended upon the alkanoyl chain length with the EC(50) values in a range of 2.6-980 mg L(-1). N,N-bis[3,3'-(dimethylamine)propyl]alkylamide dihydrochlorides 2a-b and N,N-bis[3,3'-(trimethylammonio)propyl]alkylamide dibromides 3a-b comprising n-decanoyl and n-dodecanoyl hydrophobic tails appeared to be the least toxic. Furthermore, the biodegradability under aerobic conditions of 2a-b, 3a-b was evaluated using OECD Method 301F. According to the obtained results 2a, 3a-3b can be considered as almost readily biodegradable and they are not expected to be persistent in the environment. Additionally, partial biodegradation was observed for 2b, indicating its possible biodegradation in wastewater treatment systems.

Bicephalic amphiphile architecture affects antibacterial activity

A series of cationic amphiphiles, each with an aromatic core, was prepared and investigated for antimicrobial properties. The synthesized amphiphiles in this study are bicephalic (double-headed) in that they each possess two trimethylammonium head groups and a single linear alkoxy tail. Minimum inhibitory and minimum bactericidal concentrations of these amphiphiles were in the low micromolar range. Antimicrobial activities are highly sensitive to the chain length of the hydrophobic region, and modestly reliant on the relative positioning of the head groups on the aromatic core. These trends were more pronounced in time kill assays, wherein longer chain compounds required significantly shorter times to completely kill bacteria. Microscopy suggested that the mode of cell death was lysis. Strong inhibition was observed with both biscationic compounds and monocationic comparisons against Gram-positive bacteria; only biscationic amphiphiles maintained good activity versus the Gram-negative bacteria tested. These observations provide direction for future antimicrobial structural investigations.

Surfactants Possessing Multiple Polar Heads. A Perspective on their Unique Aggregation Behavior and Applications

Surfactants containing more than one head group are known to exhibit a wide range of interesting properties as they undergo aggregation in water. The correlation between the molecular structure of these surfactants and their properties (for example, critical micellar concentration, aggregation number, morphology, counterion dissociation, fractional charge, etc.) can provide useful information to define the structure-activity relationship. The influence of the number of head groups on the surfactant aggregation is further evident from interesting interfacial behavior, seen in biological applications. This Perspective highlights recent trends in surfactant aggregation effects and focuses on emerging challenges in the field.

Phenyl-ring-bearing cationic surfactants: effect of ring location on the micellar structure

A series of isomeric cationic surfactants (S1-S5) bearing a long alkyl chain that carries a 1,4-phenylene unit and a trimethyl ammonium headgroup was synthesized; the location of the phenyl ring within the alkyl tail was varied in an effort to understand its influence on the amphiphilic properties of the surfactants. The cmc's of the surfactants were estimated using ionic conductivity measurements and isothermal calorimetric titrations (ITC); the values obtained by the two methods were found to be in excellent agreement. The ITC measurements provided additional insight into the various thermodynamic parameters associated with the micellization process. Although all five surfactants have exactly the same molecular formula, their micellar properties were seen to vary dramatically depending on the location of the phenyl ring; the cmc was seen to decrease by almost an order of magnitude when the phenyl ring was moved from the tail end (cmc of S1 is 23 mM) to the headgroup region (cmc of S5 is 3 mM). In all cases, the enthalpy of micellization was negative but the entropy of micellization was positive, suggesting that in all of these systems the formation of micelles is both enthalpically and entropically favored. As expected, the decrease in cmc values upon moving the phenyl ring from the tail end to the headgroup region is accompanied by an increase in the thermodynamic driving force (ΔG) for micellization. To understand further the differences in the micellar structure of these surfactants, small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements were carried out; these measurements reveal that the aggregation number of the micelles increases as the cmc decreases. This increase in the aggregation number is also accompanied by an increase in the asphericity of the micellar aggregate and a decrease in the fractional charge. Geometric packing arguments are presented to account for these changes in aggregation behavior as a function of phenyl ring location.

Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation of the aggregation properties of multiheaded cationic surfactants in water

The aggregation property of multiheaded surfactants has been investigated by constant pressure molecular dynamics (MD) simulation in aqueous medium. The model multiheaded surfactants contain more than one headgroup (x = 2, 3, and 4) for a single tail group. This increases the hydrophilic charge progressively over the hydrophobic tail which has dramatic consequences in the aggregation behavior. In particular, we have looked at the change in the aggregation property such as critical micellar concentration (cmc), aggregation number, and size of the micelles for the multiheaded surfactants in water. We find with increasing number of headgroups of the multiheaded surfactants that the cmc values increase and the aggregation numbers as well as the size of the micelles decrease. These trends are in agreement with the experimental findings as reported earlier with x = 1, 2, and 3. We also predict the aggregation properties of multiheaded surfactant with four headgroups (x = 4) for which no experimental studies exist yet.