Some properties of deoxycholate and dodecyl sulphate in relation to macroionic complexes and their biochemical...

The present communication describes new properties and re-explores some poorly understood characteristics of deoxycholate (DOC, bile salts) and dodecyl sulphate (SDS). These anionic detergents form complexes with basic compounds including drugs and biologically important compounds; the excess of the reagents generally dissolves a complex. A variety of two-component macroionic complexes involving oppositely charged compounds are also dissolved by these reagents. This process implies the dissociation of a complex into its constituent components by DOC/SDS. This would suggest a new attribute of the anionic detergents of breaking up ionic linkages involved in macroionic complexes. This technique makes it possible to obtain quantitative information on the behaviour of binary macroionic complexes. The newly explored characteristics of bile salts might even operate in vivo and thereby explain some of their harmful effects in disorders associated with their elevated levels in vivo. An interference with the action of drugs by bile salts could be another side effect of the latter in the relevant pathological conditions.