Salt Effects on Solute Exchange and Micelle Fission in Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Micelles below the Micelle-to-Rod Transition

Observation of Electrostatically Driven Surface Adsorption in Mixed Surfactant Systems

We employed heterodyne-detected vibrational sum-frequency generation (HD-VSFG) spectroscopy to obtain a molecular-level understanding of the interaction between the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl ammonium sulfate (SDS) and the cationic surfactant dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB). We observed that these surfactants show a strong cooperative effect on their adsorption to the water-air interface. Even at bulk concentrations 1000 times lower than the critical micelle concentrations of SDS and DTAB, a nearly complete surface surfactant layer is observed when both surfactants are present. This strong enhancement of the surface concentrations of DS- and DTA+ can be quantitatively explained from the favorable Coulomb interaction of the oppositely charged headgroups of DS- and DTA+ and the electrostatic interactions with their counterions. The HD-VSFG results are complemented by a modified Langmuir adsorption model in which we include the free energy associated with the electrostatic interactions of the surfactant ions and their counterions.

Dynamics and Equilibration Mechanisms in Block Copolymer Particles

Self-assembly of block copolymers into interesting and useful nanostructures, in both solution and bulk, is a vibrant research arena. While much attention has been paid to characterization and prediction of equilibrium phases, the associated dynamic processes are far from fully understood. Here, we explore what is known and not known about the equilibration of particle phases in the bulk, and spherical micelles in solution. The presumed primary equilibration mechanisms are chain exchange, fusion, and fragmentation. These processes have been extensively studied in surfactants and lipids, where they occur on subsecond time scales. In contrast, increased chain lengths in block copolymers create much larger barriers, and time scales can become prohibitively slow. In practice, equilibration of block copolymers is achievable only in proximity to the critical micelle temperature (in solution) or the order-disorder transition (in the bulk). Detailed theories for these processes in block copolymers are few. In the bulk, the rate of chain exchange can be quantified by tracer diffusion measurements. Often the rate of equilibration, in terms of number density and aggregation number of particles, is much slower than chain exchange, and consequently observed particle phases are often metastable. This is particularly true in regions of the phase diagram where Frank-Kasper phases occur. Chain exchange in solution has been explored quantitatively by time-resolved SANS, but the results are not well captured by theory. Computer simulations, particularly via dissipative particle dynamics, are beginning to shed light on the chain escape mechanism at the molecular level. The rate of fragmentation has been quantified in a few experimental systems, and TEM images support a mechanism akin to the anaphase stage of mitosis in cells, via a thin neck that pinches off to produce two smaller micelles. Direct measurements of micelle fusion are quite rare. Suggestions for future theoretical, computational, and experimental efforts are offered.

Direct Observation of Micelle Fragmentation via In Situ Liquid-Phase Transmission Electron Microscopy

Recently, attention has been directed toward understanding the dynamics and relaxation kinetics of block copolymer micelles, including mechanisms such as micelle fragmentation and fusion. The few prior studies on block copolymer micelle fragmentation relied on ensemble averaging techniques such as small-angle X-ray scattering and dynamic light scattering; some individual particles were imaged by ex situ transmission electron microscopy. Here we report the direct observation of fragmentation for three molecular weights of 1,2-polybutadiene-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (PB-PEO) micelles in the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide using high-temperature liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy (LP-TEM). The use of in situ LP-TEM provides unique insights into the evolution of block copolymer micelles during fragmentation. Specifically, upon heating to 170 °C, a sequence of morphological transitions from a spherical micelle to a prolate ellipsoid, then a "peanut" shape, followed by a two-spherical-compartment micelle was observed, where the last is presumed to be the transition state.

Exchange dynamics between amphiphilic block copolymers and lipidic membranes through hydrophobic pyrene probe transfer

Vectorization has experienced significant development over the last few years and has been used to control the distribution of active ingredients to a target by their association with a vector. However, controlled drug delivery suffers from "burst release" as the drugs are released before the targeted site. Very few studies have examined the collective mechanisms of fission-fusion on micelles in the transport and expulsion of active ingredients. Endocytosis and exocytosis of cells are examples of fusion and fission in biological matter. Understanding these dynamics becomes crucial for the design and the control of new materials and new processes effective in controlled drug delivery. In this work, a study of the exchange dynamics between amphiphilic block copolymers and lipid membranes for vectorization of hydrophobic molecules using a fluorescence technique is presented. A highly hydrophobic alkylated pyrene, PyC₁₈, is used as a fluorescent probe that can be exchanged between amphiphilic block copolymer micelles and liposomes via different mechanisms. It is demonstrated that the exchange dynamics evaluated for different liposome concentrations is a collective mechanism characterized by having two rate constants.

Chlorophyll-Inspired Red-Region Fluorophores: Building Block Synthesis and Studies in Aqueous Media

Fluorophores that absorb and emit in the red spectral region (600-700 nm) are of great interest in photochemistry and photomedicine. Eight new target chlorins (and 19 new chlorins altogether)-analogues of chlorophyll-of different polarities have been designed and synthesized for various applications; seven of the chlorins are equipped with a bioconjugatable tether. Hydrophobic or amphiphilic chlorins in a non-polar organic solvent (toluene), polar organic solvent (DMF), and aqueous or aqueous micellar media show a sharp emission band in the red region and modest fluorescence quantum yield (Φ_f = 0.2-0.3). A Poisson analysis implies most micelles are empty and few contain >1 chlorin. Water-soluble chlorins each bearing three PEG (oligoethyleneglycol) groups exhibit narrow emission bands (full-width-at-half maximum <25 nm). The lifetime of the lowest singlet excited state and the corresponding yields and rate constants for depopulation pathways (fluorescence, intersystem crossing, internal conversion) are generally little affected by the PEG groups or dissolution in aqueous or organic media. A set of chlorin-avidin conjugates revealed a 2-fold increase in Φ_f with increased average chlorin/avidin ratio (2.3-12). In summary, the chlorins of various polarities described herein are well suited as red-emitting fluorophores for applications in aqueous or organic media.

Mechanism of biosurfactant adsorption to oil/water interfaces from millisecond scale tensiometry measurements

Many biological molecules are by their nature amphiphilic and have the ability to act as surfactants, stabilizing interfaces between aqueous and immiscible oil phases. In this paper, we explore the adsorption kinetics of surfactin, a naturally occurring cyclic lipopeptide, at hexadecane/water interfaces and compare and contrast its adsorption behaviour with that of synthetic alkyl benzene sulfonate isomers, through direct measurements of changes in interfacial tension upon surfactant adsorption. We access millisecond time resolution in kinetic measurements by making use of droplet microfluidics to probe the interfacial tension of hexadecane droplets dispersed in a continuous water phase through monitoring their deformation when the droplets are exposed to shear flows in a microfluidic channel with regular corrugations. Our results reveal that surfactin rapidly adsorbs to the interface, thus the interfacial tension equilibrates within 300 ms, while the synthetic surfactants used undergo adsorption processes at an approximately one order of magnitude longer timescale. The approach presented may provide opportunities for understanding and modulating the adsorption mechanism of amphiphiles on a variety of interfaces in the context of life sciences and industrial applications.

Controlling the kinetics of the non-covalent functionalization of carbon nanotubes using sub-cmc dilutions in a co-surfactant environment

We investigate the origin of the slow kinetics of functionalization processes in micellar environments. We show that the ionic nature of the surfactants used to solubilize small molecules and nano-objects plays a central role in the slowness of the kinetics. In order to solve this issue, we have developed an innovative method that we apply to the hybrid compound porphyrin molecule/carbon nanotube. We use two ionic surfactants to solubilize the molecules and the nanotubes respectively. Passing the molecule suspension below the cmc allows circumventing the stability of the ionic surfactant while keeping the benefit of working with highly concentrated solutions. This method allows fine control of the functionalization reaction and tuning of the kinetics characteristic time over more than two orders of magnitude.

Transformation from Globular to Cylindrical Mixed Micelles through Molecular Exchange that Induces Micelle Fusion

Transformations between different micellar morphologies in solution induced by changes in composition, salt, or temperature are well-known phenomena; however, the understanding of the associated kinetic pathways is still limited. Especially for mixed surfactant systems, the micelles can take a very wide range of structures, depending on the surfactant packing parameter and other thermodynamic conditions. Synchrotron-based small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) in combination with fast mixing using a stopped-flow apparatus can give direct access to the structural kinetics on a millisecond time scale. Here, this approach is used to study the formation of cylindrical micelles after mixing two solutions with globular micelles of the nonionic surfactant dodecyl maltoside (DDM) and the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), respectively. Two separate processes were identified: (i) a transition in micellar shell structure, interpreted as exchange of surfactant molecules resulting in mixed globular micelles, and subsequently, (ii) fusion into larger, cylindrical structures.

Structure and growth behavior of centimeter-sized helical oleate assemblies formed with assistance of medium-length carboxylic acids

The nonequilibrium organization of self-assemblies from small building-block molecules offers an attractive and essential means to develop advanced functional materials and to understand the intrinsic nature of life systems. Fatty acids are well-known amphiphiles that form self-assemblies of several shapes. Here, we found that the lengths of helical structures of oleic acid formed in a buffered aqueous solution are dramatically different by the presence or absence of certain amphiphilic carboxylic acids. For example, under the coexistence of a small amount of N-decanoyl-l-alanine, we observed the formation of over 1 centimeter-long helical assemblies of oleate with a regular pitch and radius, whereas mainly less than 100 μm-long helices formed without this additive. Such long helical assemblies are unique in terms of their highly dimensional helical structure and growth dynamics. Results from the real-time observation of self-assembly formation, site-selective small-angle X-ray scattering, high-performance liquid chromatography analysis, and pH titration experiments suggested that the coexisting carboxylates assist in elongation by supplying oleate molecules to a scaffold for oleate helical assembly.

Paley's watchmaker analogy and prebiotic synthetic chemistry in surfactant assemblies. Formaldehyde scavenging by pyrroles leading to porphyrins as a case study

Facile exchange of micromolar dialkylpyrrolic constituents among a Poisson distribution of aqueous micelles overcomes immense statistical odds against reaction.

Fusion and fission inhibited by the same mechanism in electrostatically charged surfactant micelles

This paper revises the general idea about the role of intermicellar and intramiceller interactions in inhibiting fusion of self-assembled surfactant micelles. Fusion and fission of micelles are usually thought to be limited by different mechanisms. While fission is accepted to be controlled by surface instabilities (intramicellar interactions), fusion is commonly thought to be rate limited by the barrier to the close approach between two micelles due to the steric or Coulombic repulsions (intramicellar interactions). Here we describe the role of electrostatic repulsions in inhibiting fusion and fission kinetics in self-assembled micelles. We use stopped flow-fluorescence technique with hydrophobic pyrene to quantify fusion and fission in ionic/nonionic mixed micelles (Triton X-100/SDS). We show that the fusion and fission rates decrease with the same tendency with increasing the fraction of the ionic charges, while their ratio remains constant. Our results are interpreted to mean that, in slightly charged micelles, fusion shares the same limiting step with fission, which most likely involves surface instabilities and intramiceller interactions.

Direct observation of the formation of surfactant micelles under nonisothermal conditions by synchrotron SAXS

Self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules into micelles occurs on very short times scales of typically some milliseconds, and the structural evolution is therefore very challenging to observe experimentally. While rate constants of surfactant micelle kinetics have been accessed by spectroscopic techniques for decades, so far no experiments providing detailed information on the structural evolution of surfactant micelles during their formation process have been reported. In this work we show that by applying synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) in combination with the stopped-flow mixing technique, the entire micelle formation process from single surfactants to equilibrium micelles can be followed in situ. Using a sugar-based surfactant system of dodecyl maltoside (DDM) in dimethylformamide (DMF), micelle formation can be induced simply by adding water, and this can be followed in situ by SAXS. Mixing of water and DMF is an exothermic process where the micelle formation process occurs under nonisothermal conditions with a temperature gradient relaxing from about 40 to 20 °C. A kinetic nucleation and growth mechanism model describing micelle formation by insertion/expulsion of single molecules under nonisothermal conditions was developed and shown to describe the data very well.

Binary interactions and salt-induced coalescence of spherical micelles of cationic surfactants from molecular dynamics simulations

A direct estimation of salt-mediated potential of mean force (PMF) between spherical micelles of cationic surfactants is obtained for the first time using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Coarse-grained (CG) potentials benchmarked in an earlier study [Langmuir, 2011, 27(11), 6628-6638] are used to model a binary system of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) surfactant micelles at varying concentrations of sodium chloride (NaCl) or sodium salicylate (NaSal). The shape and structure of micelles are not subject to external constraints. NaSal is significantly more efficient in screening the intermicelle repulsive interactions shown by the PMF compared to NaCl due to a stronger binding of salicylate counterions to the micelle corona. Upon contact with each other, the micelles coalesce in the presence of NaSal to form a cylindrical structure which is stabilized by the adsorbed salicylate anions. Comparison of the PMF with Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) potentials shows qualitative agreement, while the magnitude of PMF is significantly greater than that of the DLVO potentials. To understand this discrepancy, PMF is evaluated by turning off (a) long-ranged electrostatic interactions and (b) solvent polarizability. The above effects are shown to play an important role in determining the solvent-mediated and ion-correlated interactions between the two micelles, which are not explicitly captured by mean-field double layer theories such as DLVO.

Denaturation of proteins by SDS and tetraalkylammonium dodecyl sulfates

This article describes the use of capillary electrophoresis (CE) to examine the influence of different cations (C(+); C(+) = Na(+) and tetra-n-alkylammonium, NR(4)(+), where R = Me, Et, Pr, and Bu) on the rates of denaturation of bovine carbonic anhydrase II (BCA) in the presence of anionic surfactant dodecylsulfate (DS(-)). An analysis of the denaturation of BCA in solutions of Na(+)DS(-) and NR(4)(+)DS(-) (in Tris-Gly buffer) indicated that the rates of formation of complexes of denatured BCA with DS(-) (BCA(D)-DS(-)(n,sat)) are indistinguishable and independent of the cation below the critical micellar concentration (cmc) and independent of the total concentration of DS(-) above the cmc. At concentrations of C(+)DS(-) above the cmc, BCA denatured at rates that depended on the cation; the rates decreased by a factor >10(4) in the order of Na(+) ≈ NMe(4)(+) > NEt(4)(+) > NPr(4)(+) > NBu(4)(+), which is the same order as the values of the cmc (which decrease from 4.0 mM for Na(+)DS(-) to 0.9 mM for NBu(4)(+)DS(-) in Tris-Gly buffer). The relationship between the cmc values and the rates of formation of BCA(D)-DS(-)(n,sat()) suggested that the kinetics of denaturation of BCA involve the association of this protein with monomeric DS(-) rather than with micelles of (C(+)DS(-))(n). A less-detailed survey of seven other proteins (α-lactalbumin, β-lactoglobulin A, β-lactoglobulin B, carboxypeptidase B, creatine phosphokinase, myoglobin, and ubiquitin) showed that the difference between Na(+)DS(-) and NR(4)(+)DS(-) observed with BCA was not general. Instead, the influence of NR(4)(+) on the association of DS(-) with these proteins depended on the protein. The selection of the cation contributed to the properties (including the composition, electrophoretic mobility, and partitioning behavior in aqueous two-phase systems) of aggregates of denatured protein and DS(-). These results suggest that the variation in the behavior of NR(4)(+)DS(-) with changes in R may be exploited in methods used to analyze and separate mixtures of proteins.

Sampling the kinetic pathways of a micelle fusion and fission transition

The mechanism and kinetics of micellar breakup and fusion in a dilute solution of a model surfactant are investigated by path sampling techniques. Analysis of the path ensemble gives insight in the mechanism of the transition. For larger, less stable micelles the fission/fusion occurs via a clear neck formation, while for smaller micelles the mechanism is more direct. In addition, path analysis yields an appropriate order parameter to evaluate the fusion and fission rate constants using stochastic transition interface sampling. For the small, stable micelle (50 surfactants) the computed fission rate constant is a factor of 10 lower than the fusion rate constant. The procedure opens the way for accurate calculation of free energy and kinetics for, e.g., membrane fusion, and wormlike micelle endcap formation.

Effect of N-glycinylmaleamic acid on microstructural characteristics and solubilization properties of sodium dodecyl sulfate micellar assemblies

The cosurfactant activity of N-glycinylmaleamic acid (NGMA) in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles has been demonstrated. The complementary techniques of electron spin resonance (ESR) and fluorescence spectroscopy have been used to draw information on hydration index (H), microviscosity (eta), and aggregation number (N) of micellar assemblies. The estimate of the critical micelle concentration of SDS in the presence of NGMA suggests a synergistic effect of NGMA. The enhanced solubilization of butyl propionate in the presence of NGMA in SDS micelles is explained on the basis of availability of larger interfacial area calculated from a simple spherical geometric model, combined with a low hydrophilicity index as estimated from ESR. Thus, addition of NGMA contributes to an increase of about 50% in ratio of area of polar shell (AP)/volume of hydration (Vh) ratio. The decrease in H accompanied by a decrease in eta with the incorporation of butyl propionate probably arises from solubilization of a butyl component inside the core with the adsorption of propionate ester on the interface.

Exchange mechanisms for sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles: high salt concentration

Solute exchange experiments for the pyrene-labeled triglyceride TG-Py solubilized in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles in the presence and absence of salt show that the "observed" rate constant k(obs) for solute exchange varies by over 6 orders of magnitude as the free sodium ion concentration [Na(+)](aq) is varied between 10 and 850 mM. There is a sharp break in the log-log plot of k(obs) versus [Na(+)](aq) in the range of [Na(+)](aq) = 200 mM, with the exchange rate showing a weaker dependence on [Na(+)](aq) above this concentration. Up to 100 mM added NaCl, this exchange takes place essentially exclusively by a micelle fission mechanism in which each submicelle carries off one of the solutes. At higher salt concentrations, a bimolecular process becomes increasingly important. This fusion process, which involves formation of a transient supermicelle followed by fission back to two normal micelles, becomes the dominant process at high salt concentrations. The fission rate appears to level off for salt concentrations above 300-400 mM. These fission and fusion processes are related in an intimate way to the changes in the size and shape of the SDS micelles with increasing salt concentration.