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Nguyen MVT, Dolph K, Delaney KT, Shen K, Sherck N, Köhler S, Gupta R, Francis MB, Shell MS, Fredrickson GH. Molecularly informed field theory for estimating critical micelle concentrations of intrinsically disordered protein surfactants. J Chem Phys 2023; 159:244904. [PMID: 38149742 PMCID: PMC10754628 DOI: 10.1063/5.0178910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The critical micelle concentration (CMC) is a crucial parameter in understanding the self-assembly behavior of surfactants. In this study, we combine simulation and experiment to demonstrate the predictive capability of molecularly informed field theories in estimating the CMC of biologically based protein surfactants. Our simulation approach combines the relative entropy coarse-graining of small-scale atomistic simulations with large-scale field-theoretic simulations, allowing us to efficiently compute the free energy of micelle formation necessary for the CMC calculation while preserving chemistry-specific information about the underlying surfactant building blocks. We apply this methodology to a unique intrinsically disordered protein platform capable of a wide variety of tailored sequences that enable tunable micelle self-assembly. The computational predictions of the CMC closely match experimental measurements, demonstrating the potential of molecularly informed field theories as a valuable tool to investigate self-assembly in bio-based macromolecules systematically.
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Affiliation(s)
- My. V. T. Nguyen
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
| | - Kate Dolph
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Kris T. Delaney
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
| | | | | | | | - Rohini Gupta
- California Research Alliance (CARA) by BASF, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | | | - M. Scott Shell
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
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Nguyen M, Shen K, Sherck N, Köhler S, Gupta R, Delaney KT, Shell MS, Fredrickson GH. A molecularly informed field-theoretic study of the complexation of polycation PDADMA with mixed micelles of sodium dodecyl sulfate and ethoxylated surfactants. THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL. E, SOFT MATTER 2023; 46:75. [PMID: 37665423 DOI: 10.1140/epje/s10189-023-00332-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
The self-assembly and phase separation of mixtures of polyelectrolytes and surfactants are important to a range of applications, from formulating personal care products to drug encapsulation. In contrast to systems of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes, in polyelectrolyte-surfactant systems the surfactants micellize into structures that are highly responsive to solution conditions. In this work, we examine how the morphology of micelles and degree of polyelectrolyte adsorption dynamically change upon varying the mixing ratio of charged and neutral surfactants. Specifically, we consider a solution of the cationic polyelectrolyte polydiallyldimethylammonium, anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate, neutral ethoxylated surfactants (C[Formula: see text]EO[Formula: see text]), sodium chloride salt, and water. To capture the chemical specificity of these species, we leverage recent developments in constructing molecularly informed field theories via coarse-graining from all-atom simulations. Our results show how changing the surfactant mixing ratios and the identity of the nonionic surfactant modulates micelle size and surface charge, and as a result dictates the degree of polyelectrolyte adsorption. These results are in semi-quantitative agreement with experimental observations on the same system.
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Affiliation(s)
- My Nguyen
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Kevin Shen
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | | | | | - Rohini Gupta
- California Research Alliance (CARA) by BASF, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Kris T Delaney
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - M Scott Shell
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
| | - Glenn H Fredrickson
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
- Department of Materials, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
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Jiang J, Li S, Wang M, Hou D, Hu J, Zhang J, Geng Y, Xie H, Hu M, Liu Z. Acid Radical Tolerance of Silane Coatings on Calcium Silicate Hydrate Surfaces in Aggressive Environments: The Role of Nitrate/Sulfate Ratio. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2023; 39:11304-11316. [PMID: 37535432 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c00997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/05/2023]
Abstract
Silane is known as an effective coating for enhancing the resistance of concrete to harmful acids and radicals that are usually produced by the metabolism of microorganisms. However, the mechanism of silane protection is still unclear due to its nanoscale attributes. Here, the protective behavior of silane on the calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) surface is examined under the attack environment of nitrate/sulfate ions using molecular dynamics simulations. The findings revealed that silane coating improved the resistance of C-S-H to nitrate/sulfate ions. This resistance is considered the origin of silane protection against harmful ion attacks. Further research on the details of molecular structures suggests that the interaction between the oxygen in the silane molecule and the calcium in C-S-H, which can prevent the coordination of sulfate and nitrate to calcium on the C-S-H surface, is the cause of the silane molecules' strong adsorption. These results are also proved in terms of free energy, which found that the adsorption free energy on the C-S-H surface followed the order silane > sulfate > nitrate. This research confirms the excellent protection performance of silane on the nanoscale. The revealed mechanism can be further used to help the development of high-performance composite coatings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jialin Jiang
- Department of Civil Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266033, China
| | - Shaochun Li
- Department of Civil Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266033, China
- Engineering Research Center of Concrete Technology Under Marine Environment, Ministry of Education, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266033, China
| | - Muhan Wang
- Department of Civil Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266033, China
- State Key Laboratory of Hydraulic Engineering Simulation and Safety, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Dongshuai Hou
- Department of Civil Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266033, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Engineering Construction and Safety in Shandong Blue Economic Zone, Qingdao 266033, China
| | - Jinhu Hu
- Department of Civil Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266033, China
| | - Jun Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing and School of Materials Science and Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
| | - Yongjuan Geng
- Department of Civil Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266033, China
| | - Huilin Xie
- Department of Civil Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266033, China
| | - Mengjun Hu
- Department of Civil Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266033, China
| | - Zhijun Liu
- Department of Civil Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266033, China
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Bjørnestad VA, Li X, Tribet C, Lund R, Cascella M. Micelle kinetics of photoswitchable surfactants: Self-assembly pathways and relaxation mechanisms. J Colloid Interface Sci 2023; 646:883-899. [PMID: 37235934 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.05.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
HYPOTHESIS A key question in the kinetics of surfactant self-assembly is whether exchange of unimers or fusion/fission of entire micelles is the dominant pathway. In this study, an isomerizable surfactant is used to explore fundamental out-of-equilibrium kinetics and mechanisms for growth and dissolution of micelles. EXPERIMENTS The kinetics of cationic surfactant 4-butyl-4'-(3-trimethylammoniumpropoxy)-phenylazobenzene was studied using molecular dynamics simulations. The fusion and exchange processes were investigated using umbrella sampling. Equilibrium states were validated by comparison with small-angle X-ray scattering data. The photo-isomerization event was simulated by modifying the torsion potential of the photo-responsive group to emulate the trans-to-cis transition. FINDINGS Micelle growth is dominated by unimer exchange processes, whereas, depending on the conditions, dissolution can occur both through fission and unimer expulsion. Fusion barriers increase steeply with the aggregation number making this an unlikely pathway to equilibrium for micelles of sizes that fit with the experimental data. The barriers for unimer expulsion remain constant and are much lower for unimer insertion, making exchange more likely at high aggregation. When simulating photo-conversion events, both fission and a large degree of unimer expulsion can occur depending on the extent of the out-of-equilibrium stress that is put on the system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria Ariel Bjørnestad
- Hylleraas Centre for Quantum Molecular Sciences, Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Sem Sælands vei 26, Oslo, 0371, Norway
| | - Xinmeng Li
- Hylleraas Centre for Quantum Molecular Sciences, Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Sem Sælands vei 26, Oslo, 0371, Norway
| | - Christophe Tribet
- PASTEUR, Département de Chimie, École Normale Supérieure, PSL University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Reidar Lund
- Hylleraas Centre for Quantum Molecular Sciences, Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Sem Sælands vei 26, Oslo, 0371, Norway.
| | - Michele Cascella
- Hylleraas Centre for Quantum Molecular Sciences, Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Sem Sælands vei 26, Oslo, 0371, Norway.
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Shen K, Nguyen M, Sherck N, Yoo B, Köhler S, Speros J, Delaney KT, Shell MS, Fredrickson GH. Predicting surfactant phase behavior with a molecularly informed field theory. J Colloid Interface Sci 2023; 638:84-98. [PMID: 36736121 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.01.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2022] [Revised: 12/24/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
HYPOTHESIS The computational study of surfactants and self-assembly is challenging because 1) models need to reflect chemistry-specific interactions, and 2) self-assembled structures are difficult to equilibrate with conventional molecular dynamics. We propose to overcome these challenges with a multiscale simulation approach where relative entropy minimization transfers chemically-detailed information from all-atom (AA) simulations to coarse-grained (CG) models that can be simulated using field-theoretic methods. Field-theoretic simulations are not limited by intrinsic physical time scales like diffusion and allow for rigorous equilibration via free energy minimization. This approach should enable the study of properties that are difficult to obtain by particle-based simulations. SIMULATION WORK We apply this workflow to sodium dodecylsulfate. To ensure chemical fidelity we present an AA force field calibrated against interfacial tension experiments. We generate CG models from AA simulation trajectories and show that particle-based and field-theoretic simulations of the CG model reproduce AA simulations and experimental measurements. FINDINGS The workflow captures the complex balance of interactions in a multicomponent system ultimately described by an atomistic model. The resulting CG models can study complex 3D phases like double or alternating gyroids, and reproduce salt effects on properties like aggregation number and shape transitions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Shen
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara 93106, CA, United States; Materials Research Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara 93106, CA, United States.
| | - My Nguyen
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara 93106, CA, United States
| | - Nicholas Sherck
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara 93106, CA, United States
| | - Brian Yoo
- BASF Corporation, Tarrytown 10591, NY, United States
| | | | - Joshua Speros
- California Research Alliance (CARA) by BASF, Berkeley 94720, CA, United States
| | - Kris T Delaney
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara 93106, CA, United States
| | - M Scott Shell
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara 93106, CA, United States.
| | - Glenn H Fredrickson
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara 93106, CA, United States; Materials Research Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara 93106, CA, United States; Department of Materials Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara 93106, CA, United States.
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Bhendale M, Singh JK. Molecular Insights on Morphology, Composition, and Stability of Mixed Micelles Formed by Ionic Surfactant and Nonionic Block Copolymer in Water Using Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics Simulations. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2023; 39:5031-5040. [PMID: 36992607 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c00045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
The nanoscale association domains are the ultimate determinants of the macroscopic properties of complex fluids involving amphiphilic polymers and surfactants, and hence, it is foremost important to understand the role of polymer/surfactant concentration on these domains. We have used coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the effect of polymer/surfactant concentration on the morphology of poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO, i.e., pluronics or poloxamers) block copolymer, and ionic surfactants sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), mixed micelles in aqueous solution. The proclivity of the surfactant to form the mixed micelles is also probed using umbrella sampling simulations. In this study, we observed that the core of the pluronic + SDS formed mixed micelles consists of PPO, the alkyl tail of SDS, and some water molecules, whereas the PEO, water, and sulfate headgroups of SDS form a shell, consistent with experimental observations. The micelles are spherical at high-pluronic/low-SDS compositions, ellipsoidal at high-SDS/low-pluronic compositions, and wormlike-cylindrical at high-pluronic/high-SDS compositions. The transitions in micelle morphology are governed by the solvent accessible surface area of mixed aggregates, electrostatic repulsion between SDS-headgroups, and dehydration of PEO and PPO segments. The free energy barrier for SDS escape is much higher in mixed micelles than in pure SDS micelles, indicating a stronger tendency for SDS to form pluronic-SDS mixed micelles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mangesh Bhendale
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh 208016, India
| | - Jayant K Singh
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh 208016, India
- Prescience Insilico Private Limited, Fifth Floor, Novel MSR Building, Marathalli, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560037, India
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Seeger SC, Lodge TP, Dorfman KD. Mechanism of Escape of a Single Chain from a Diblock Copolymer Micelle. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c01742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah C. Seeger
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota─Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota55455, United States
| | - Timothy P. Lodge
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota─Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota55455, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota─Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota55455, United States
| | - Kevin D. Dorfman
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota─Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota55455, United States
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Seeger SC, Dorfman KD, Lodge TP. Free Energy Trajectory for Escape of a Single Chain from a Diblock Copolymer Micelle. ACS Macro Lett 2021; 10:1570-1575. [PMID: 35549128 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.1c00508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
We use umbrella sampling to compute the free energy trajectory of a single chain undergoing expulsion from an isolated diblock copolymer micelle. This approach elucidates the experimentally unobservable transition state, identifies the spatial position of the maximum free energy, and reveals the chain conformation of a single chain as it undergoes expulsion. Combining umbrella sampling with dissipative particle dynamics simulations of A4B8 micelles reveals that the core block (A) of the expelled chain remains partially stretched at the transition state, in contrast with the collapsed state assumed in some previous models. The free energy barrier increases linearly with the Flory-Huggins interaction parameter χ up to large interaction energies, where the structure of the otherwise spherical core apparently deforms near the transition state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah C. Seeger
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota − Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Kevin D. Dorfman
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota − Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Timothy P. Lodge
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota − Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota − Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
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Vu T, Koenig P, Weaver M, Hutton HD, Kasting GB. Effects of cationic counterions and surfactant on viscosity of an amino acid-based surfactant system. Colloids Surf A Physicochem Eng Asp 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfa.2021.127040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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