Inducing pH control over the critical micelle concentration of zwitterionic surfactants via polyacids adsorption: Effect of chain length and structure

HYPOTHESIS

The critical concentration above which micelles form from zwitterionic surfactant solutions and their thermodynamic stability is affected by the interaction with weak Brønsted polyacid chains (A_n) via the formation of charged hydrogen bonds between the latter and anionic moieties.

EXPERIMENTS

The interaction between zwitterionic micelles and polyacids capable of forming hydrogen bonds, and its dependence on the environmental pH and polymer structure, has been studied with constant-pH simulations and a restricted primitive model for all electrolytes.

FINDINGS

At low pH, the formation of polyacid/micelle complexes is witnessed independently of the polymer size or structure, so that the concentration above which micelles form is substantially decreased compared to polyacid-free cases. Upon rising pH, polymer desorption takes place within a narrow range of pH values, its location markedly depending on the size and structure of polyacids, and on the relative disposition between headgroup charged moieties. Thus, the desorption onset for long linear polyacids (A₆₀) interacting with sulphobetainic headgroups is roughly two pH units higher than for six decameric chains (6A₁₀) adsorbed onto micelles bearing phosphorylcholinic headgroups. This effect, together with the preferential desorption of chain ends at intermediate pH, may be exploited for drug delivery purposes or building advanced metamaterials.

Diffusion of an ionic drug in micellar aqueous solutions

Supramolecular carriers such as micelles can be used to noncovalently bind drug molecules for pharmaceutical applications. However, these carriers can fundamentally affect diffusion-based drug transport due to host-guest coupled diffusion. We report a ternary interdiffusion study on an ionic drug in aqueous micellar solutions. Specifically, high-precision Rayleigh interferometry was used to determine the four multicomponent diffusion coefficients for the potassium naproxenate-tyloxapol-water ternary system at 25 degrees C and pH 7. In addition, we have measured drug solubility as a function of tyloxapol concentration. These measurements were used to characterize drug-surfactant thermodynamic interactions using the two-phase partitioning model. Furthermore, we propose a novel model on host-guest coupled diffusion that includes counterions. We show that quantitative agreement between model and experimental diffusion results can be achieved if the effect of micelle solvation on transport parameters is included in the model. This work represents an essential addition to our previous diffusion study on a nonionic drug and provides guidance for the development of accurate models of drug diffusion-based controlled release in the presence of nanocarriers.

Modulation of drug transport properties by multicomponent diffusion in surfactant aqueous solutions

Diffusion coefficients of drug compounds are crucial parameters used for modeling transport processes. Interestingly, diffusion of a solute can be generated not only by its own concentration gradient but also by concentration gradients of other solutes. This phenomenon is known as multicomponent diffusion. A multicomponent diffusion study on drug-surfactant-water ternary mixtures is reported here. Specifically, high-precision Rayleigh interferometry was used to determine multicomponent diffusion coefficients for the hydrocortisone-tyloxapol-water system at 25 degrees C. For comparison, diffusion measurements by dynamic light scattering were also performed. In addition, drug solubility was measured as a function of tyloxapol concentration, and drug-surfactant thermodynamic interactions using the two-phase partitioning model were characterized. The diffusion results are in agreement with a proposed coupled multicomponent diffusion model for ternary mixtures relevant to nonionic drug and surfactant molecules. Theoretical examination of diffusion-based drug transport in the presence of concentration gradients of micelles shows that drug fluxes and drug concentration profiles are significantly affected by coupled multicomponent diffusion. This work provides guidance for the development of accurate models of diffusion-based controlled release in multicomponent systems and for the applications of micelle concentration gradients to the modulation of diffusion-based drug transport.