Amphipathicity and self-assembly behavior of amphiphilic alginate esters

Amphiphilic alginate esters (Alg-C(n)) with different degree of substitution (DS) and hydrophobic alkyl length were synthesized by the reaction between partially protonated sodium alginate and aliphatic alcohols (octanol, dodecanol or hexadecanol) and characterized by conventional methods. The critical micelles concentration (CMC) of Alg-C(n) was determined by measuring the fluorescence intensity of pyrene as a fluorescent probe, conductance and surface tension (SFT). Formation and characteristics of the self-assembly micelles of Alg-C(n) were studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Zetasizer Nano Series method. The results indicate that CMC value and the self-assembled micelle size decreased with the increasing of the hydrophobic alkyl chain length, as the DS of Alg-C(n) is similar.