Structural transitions involving shape changes play an important role in cellular physiology. Such transition can be conveniently induced in charged micelles by increasing ionic strength of the medium. Shape changes have recently been shown to result in altered packing and lowering of micellar polarity. As a consequence of reduced polarity, the ionization states of micelle-bound molecules vary ...

In the field of nanomedicine, long term accumulation of nanoparticles (NPs) in the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS) such as liver is the major hurdle in clinical translation. On the other hand, NPs could be excreted via hepatobiliary excretion pathway without overt tissue toxicity. Therefore, it is critical to develop NPs that show favorable excretion property. Herein, we demonstrated that mi...

Aiming to reduce herbicide leaching, "in situ" adsorption of herbicide-micelle formulations to soils was explored. Sulfentrazone or metolachlor were solubilized in cationic micelles, and these herbicide-micelle formulations were applied to sandy and alluvial soils. Sulfentrazone adsorption to the soils was negligible; however, its adsorption via its solubilization in micelles and their adsorpti...

Mesophase separation has been identified in a polycation/anionic-nonionic mixed micelle system formed by the coacervation of poly(diallyldimethylammoniumchloride)/sodium dodecylsulfate-Triton X-100 in 0.40 M NaCl. The resultant dense, optically clear fluid was studied by turbidity, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and rheology. The presence of two diffusion modes in DLS points to microscopic het...

Micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration (MEUF) of zinc ions (Zn2+) from aqueous solutions using single anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) at low critical micelle concentrations (cmc) (0.2×cmc – 3×cmc) was investigated. When the initial SDS concentration was below the cmc, unexpectedly high rejection (97.5%) was obtained due to concentration polarisation occurring near the membrane-solut...

(d) Abstract Interactions between phenol and cationic cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) micelles have been investigated by means of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The combined use of 1 H and NOESY techniques revealed that phenol has different preferred locations of interaction depending on the pH. At neutral pH (6.70) conditions, phenol molecules are preferentially located in the ...

Nanoparticle drug carriers hold potential to improve current cancer therapy by delivering payload to the tumor environment and decreasing toxic side effects. Challenges in nanotechnology drug delivery include plasma instability, site-specific delivery, and relevant biomarkers. We have developed a triblock polymer comprising a hydroxamic acid functionalized center block that chelates iron to for...

The enzyme hydrogenase isolated from the sulphate reducing anaerobic bacterium Desulfovibrio gigas was encapsulated in reverse micelles of AOT–water–isooctane. The enzyme ability to consume molecular hydrogen was studied as a function of the micelle size (given by Wo = [H2O]/[organic solvent]). A peak of catalytic activity was obtained for Wo = 18, a micelle size theoretically fitting the heter...

Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D), attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and total organic carbon detection (TOC) are employed to examine the cause of the differences in the partitioning of silica-coated nanoparticles in an aqueous micellar two-phase system based on nonionic surfactant Eumulgin ES. The particles partition into the mi...

The thermal stability of a self-assembled micelle was remarkably enhanced by a topology effect. Linear poly(butyl acrylate)-block-poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(butyl acrylate) (1) and the cyclized product, poly(butyl acrylate)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (2), were self-assembled to form flower-like micelles. By means of viscometry, the critical micelle concentrations were determined to be 0.13...