We have carried out molecular dynamics simulations of the naturally occurring protegrin PG-1 peptide and two of its mutants, PC-9 and PC-13 in the presence of a dodecyl-phosphocholine (DPC) micelle. The effects of mutations that disrupt the β-sheet structure in the case of PC-9 and reduce the charge at the C-terminus in the case of PC-13 are analyzed. It is found that the surface-bound conforma...

In this article we have studied Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) using 2-aminopurine (2-AP), a structural isomer of adenine as donor and various Coumarins as acceptors inside AROSOL-OT (AOT)-water reverse micelles (RM) using steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopies. We have used three sets of FRET and all the pairs except 2-AP-Coumarin-480 exhibited quite efficient FRE...

Molecular motion of carbocyanine fluorophores DOCI, DODCI and DTDCI were studied in AOT/n-heptane microemulsions containing added polar solvents: water, methanol or acetonitrile. The response varied remarkably depending on the nature fluorophore solvent. When amount solvent was low, molecular mobility invariably retarded, due to a combination electrostatic hydrophobic forces that induce guest c...

Although worm-like micelles have been studied for over 20 years, the diversity of macroscopic behavior and the potential analogy to polyelectrolytes has driven continued study. During the last year, development and application of more realistic scattering models has yielded a deeper understanding of micelle structure. Comprehensive studies on systematic systems are being reported that combine s...

The properties of the water network in concentrated HCl acid pools nanometer-sized reverse nonionic micelles were probed with TeraHertz absorption, dielectric relaxation spectroscopy, and reactive force field simulations capable describing proton hopping mechanisms. We identify that only at a critical micelle size W0=9 do solvated complexes form pool, accompanied by change mechanism from Grotth...

This review presents some examples obtained by molecular techniques in the study of non-ionic reverse micelles of poly(ethylene oxide) type surfactants: tetraethylene glycol mono-ndodecyl ether (C12E4), Triton X-100, and triblok copolymers poly(ethylene oxide)-blockpoly(propylene oxide)-blockpoly(ethylene oxide) (L62 and L64 Pluronics). By using specific spectral parameters of spin, fluorescenc...

Fluorinated surfactants are an important class of surfactants because they possess properties that are far superior than those of their hydrocarbon analogs. As a result, they find use in a wide variety of applications including in paints, polishes, fire-fighting foams, and emulsion polymerization. However, concerns regarding the non-biodegradability and toxicity of fluorinated surfactants have ...