Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 29, 2026

Enhanced Oil Recovery using a Combination of Biosurfactants
Published on: June 3, 2022
Evaluation of surfactants as solubilizing agents in microsomal metabolism reactions with lipophilic substrates
Kathleen Randall1, Shun Wen Cheng, Anne Therese Kotchevar
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, CA 94542, USA.
Abstract:
Solubilizing agents are routinely added when investigating the biotransformation of lipophilic substrates using hepatic microsomes. For highly lipophilic compounds, the concentration of solvent or surfactant necessary for dissolution can be detrimental to enzyme activity. This study evaluates the effect of 12 surfactants on microsomal metabolism and the ability of the same surfactants to improve the aqueous solubility of the pentabrominated diphenyl ether BDE-100, a lipophilic environmental contaminant previously found to be recalcitrant to in vitro metabolism. Of the surfactants investigated, Cremophor EL and Tween 80 displayed the best combination of increased BDE-100 solubility and minimal inhibition of microsomal metabolism. However, a comparison of the in vitro metabolism products of BDE-100 in the presence of the two surfactants revealed varying amounts of metabolites depending on the surfactant used.
Related Concept Videos
Surface Active Agents
Bioavailability Enhancement: Drug Solubility Enhancement
Factors Affecting Dissolution: Drug pKa, Lipophilicity and GI pH
A drug's pKa and the pH of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract play crucial roles in drug...
Micelles
Factors Affecting Dissolution: Particle Size and Effective Surface Area
Drug Metabolism: Phase II Reactions

