The impact of electrolyte and urea on the phase separation of Triton X-100

Phase separation, aggregation, and complexation of triton-X100 and bovine serum albumin mixture: A combined cloud point and UV-visible spectroscopic approaches

Phase separation and aggregation behaviour of triton X-100 (TX-100) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) mixture were investigated using cloud point and UV-visible spectroscopic techniques. The effects of various hydrotropes (HYTs) - namely, sodium salicylate (SS), sodium benzoate (SB), glycerol (Glyc), and 4-aminobenzoic acid (4-ABA) - on the cloud point (CP) of TX-100 + BSA were determined. The obtained CP values for the mixed system in the presence of HYTs followed the order: The measured critical micellization concentration (CMC) values of the TX-100 + BSA mixture were found to be significantly altered with varying amounts of BSA. The calculated free energy of clouding and micellization indicated the non-spontaneous nature of the phase transition and the spontaneous association of the TX-100 + BSA mixture. The non-spontaneity of phase separation decreased with increasing concentrations of HYTs. The enumerated values of ∆Hco and ∆Sco were consistently recorded as negative and positive magnitudes, respectively, in all aqueous HYTs media. The clouding process occurred due to a combination of hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. The binding constant of the mixed system was determined employing the UV-vis spectroscopic method using the Benesi-Hildebrand equation.

Physico-chemical properties of the association of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and bovine serum albumin mixture in aqueous-organic mixed solvents

Herein, we have investigated the association behavior of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) using the conductivity method in H₂O and H₂O + organic mixed solvents at different temperatures. The association phenomenon was detected from the deviation of the conductivity changes with enhancing the surfactant concentration and changes of numerous physico-chemical properties, such as CMC, α, β and thermodynamic variables (∆G⁰_m, ∆H⁰_m and ∆S⁰_m). The values of CMC for the CTAB + BSA system in 10 % (v/v) solvents follow the trend: CMC_water < CMC_water+DMSO < CMC_water+AN < CMC_water+DX < CMC_water+DMF. The interaction of BSA with CTAB is notably influenced due to a change of temperature and extent of hydration of BSA and surfactant. The obtained values of -∆G⁰_m manifest that the association of BSA and CTAB mixture is a spontaneous process, while the values of -∆G⁰_m in presence of 10 % (v/v) aq. organic solvents come out in the given sequence: -∆G_m^o (H₂O + DMSO) > ∆G_m^o (H₂O + DMF) > -∆G_m^o (H₂O + DX) > -∆G_m^o (H₂O + AN). The H-bonding, ion-dipole, along with the hydrophobic interactions, are believed to be the binding interactions between BSA and CTAB in the study media.

Physico-chemical parameters of phase separation of the mixture of BSA and triton X 100 in aqueous solutions of monohydroxy compounds

Clouding behavior and thermodynamic properties for the TX 100 + BSA mixture were investigated in aqueous and aq. alcoholic media. In an aqueous environment, the values of cloud point (CP), at which a clear solution becomes cloudy, for TX 100 decreases with augmentation of the concentration of BSA. The reverse result was obtained in the aq. alcoholic media. In this study, we have used ethanol (EtOH), 1-propanol (1-PrOH), and 2-butanol (2-BuOH) as alcohols. The changes of CP values in alcoholic media have been obtained in the following order: CP_H2O+EtOH > CP_H2O+2-BuOH > CP_H2O+1-PrOH. The standard free energy (∆G_c^o), standard enthalpy (∆H_c^o), and standard entropy (∆S_c^o) changes of clouding were derived at CP. The ΔG_c⁰ values of TX 100 + BSA decreases in the aqueous and alcoholic media with increasing the concentration of BSA and alcohol. This process becomes endothermic in the aq. alcoholic media. Different thermodynamic properties of transfer and entropy-enthalpy compensation parameters for the phase partitioning of the TX 100 + BSA mixture have been calculated and assessed properly.

Liquid-liquid phase separated microdomains of an amphiphilic graft copolymer in a surfactant-rich medium

The liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of amphiphilic thermoresponsive copolymers can lead to the formation of micron-sized domains, known as simple coacervates. Due to their potential to confine active principles, these copolymer-rich droplets have gained interest as encapsulating agents. Understanding and controlling the conditions inducing this LLPS is therefore essential for applicative purposes and requires thorough fundamental studies on self-coacervation. In this work, we investigate the LLPS of a comb-like graft copolymer (PEG-g-PVAc) consisting of a poly(ethylene glycol) backbone (6 kDa) with ∼2-3 grafted poly(vinyl acetate) chains, and a PEG/PVAc weight ratio of 40/60. Specifically, we report the effect of various water-soluble additives on its phase separation behavior. Kosmotropes and non-ionic surfactants were found to decrease the phase separation temperature of the copolymer, while chaotropes and, above all, ionic surfactants increased it. We then focus on the phase behavior of PEG-g-PVAc in the presence of sodium citrate and a C_14-15 E₇ non-ionic surfactant (N45-7), defining the compositional range for the generation of LLPS microdomains at room temperature and monitoring their formation with fluorescence confocal microscopy. Finally, we determine the composition of the microdomains through confocal Raman microscopy, demonstrating the presence of PEG-g-PVAc, N45-7, and water. These results expand our knowledge on polymeric self-coacervation, clarifying the optimal conditions and composition needed to obtain LLPS microdomains with encapsulation potential at room temperature in surfactant-rich formulations.

Impact of salts on the phase separation and thermodynamic properties of mixed nonionic surfactants in absence/attendance of polyvinyl alcohol

Mixed surfactant systems are used in different applied fields like pharmaceutical formulation rather than single surfactant. Therefore, the determination of the clouding nature of the triton X-100 (TX-100) + Tween 80 (TW-80) mixture was carried out in H2O and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). In the occurrence of PVA, the cloud point (CP) values of TX-100 initially enhance with enhancing the concentration of PVA and tend to decrease after a certain concentration. For different ratios of TX-100 and TW-80 mixture having the same concentration of both solutions, CP values increase through the decreasing ratios of TX-100 with/without PVA. In the presence of polymer, at higher ratios of TX-100 than TW-80, the CP values are higher in magnitudes in comparison to the aqueous medium but at lower ratios of TX-100, the value of CP are lower in magnitudes in comparison to the aqueous system. The CP values of the TX-100 + TW-80 mixture in the salt system are lower in magnitudes than the aqueous medium in both the absence/presence of PVA. However, a reduction of CP values was obtained to a large extent for Na2SO4 over NaCl in the case of lower volume ratios of TX-100. Various thermodynamic variables (standard free energy ( Δ G c o ${\Delta}{G}_{c}^{o}$ ), standard enthalpy ( Δ H c o ${\Delta}{H}_{c}^{o}$ ), standard entropy ( Δ S c o ${\Delta}{S}_{c}^{o}$ ) change, thermodynamic parameters of transfer (free energy of transfer ( Δ G c , t o ${\Delta}{G}_{c,t}^{o}$ ), and transfer of enthalpies ( Δ H c , t o ${\Delta}{H}_{c,t}^{o}$ )) of phase transition) were also determined.