A recently introduced thermodynamic model of amphiphilic molecules in solution has yielded under certain realistic conditions a significant presence of metastable aggregates well below the critical micelle concentration-a phenomenon that has been reported also experimentally. The theory is extended in two directions pertaining to the experimental and technological relevance of such premicellar ...

Control over micelle properties is vital in the field of drug delivery, and the ability to modify these properties in order to trigger dissociation is highly desirable. We prepared polymeric micelles with the ability to undergo dissociation over time without the need for external stimulation by incorporating an electroactive and redox responsive segment into amphiphilic copolymers. The incorpor...

In this paper, a molecular dynamics simulation of surfactant self-assembly using realistic atomistic models is presented. The simulations are long enough to enable the observation of several processes leading to equilibrium, such as monomer addition and detachment, micelle dissolution, and micelle fusion. The self-assembly of DeTAB surfactants takes place in three stages: fast aggregation of mo...

We report the design of a self-assembled aptamer-micelle nanostructure that achieves selective and strong binding of otherwise low-affinity aptamers at physiological conditions. Specific recognition ability is directly built into the nanostructures. The attachment of a lipid tail onto the end of nucleic acid aptamers provides these unique nanostructures with an internalization pathway. Other me...

The energetics of phospholipid aggregation depend on the apparent water-accessible apolar surface area (ASAap), ordering effects of the chains, and headgroup interactions. We quantify the enthalpy and entropy of these interactions separately. For that purpose, the thermodynamics of micelle formation of lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs, chains C10, C12, C14, and C16) and diacylphosphatidylcholines...

The acid dissociation constants of long-chain esters of carnitine (5-hydroxy-~,trimethylammonium-butyrate) above the critical micelle concentration were determined potentiometrieally at several concentrations of added KC1. As the degree of protonation 5 increases the apparent pK values decrease owing to the increased positive charge on the micelle. The difference in pK between the neutral (zwit...