Temperature and pressure based NMR studies of detergent micelle phase equilibria

Bulk thermodynamic and volumetric parameters (ΔGmic°, ΔHmic°, ΔSmic°, ΔCp,mic°, ΔVmic°, and Δκmic°) associated with the monomer–micelle equilibrium, were directly determined for a variety of common detergents [sodium n-dodecyl sulfate (SDS), n-dodecyl phosphocholine (DPC), n-dodecyl-β-d-maltoside (DDM), and 7-cyclohexyl-1-heptyl phosphocholine (CyF)] via 1H NMR spectroscopy. For each temperature and pressure point, the critical micelle concentration (cmc) was obtained from a single 1H NMR spectrum at a single intermediate concentration by referencing the observed chemical shift to those of pure monomer and pure micellar phases. This permitted rapid measurements of the cmc over a range of temperatures and pressures. In all cases, micelle formation was strongly entropically favored, while enthalpy changes were all positive, with the exception of SDS, which exhibited a modestly negative enthalpy of micellization. Heat capacity changes were also characteristically negative, while partial molar volume changes were uniformly positive, as expected for an aggregation process dictated by hydrophobic effects. Isothermal compressibility changes were found to be consistent with previous measurements using other techniques. Thermodynamic measurements were also related to spectroscopic studies of topology and micelle structure. For example, paramagnetic effects resulting from the addition of dioxygen provided microscopic topological details concerning the hydrophobicity gradient along the detergent chains within their respective micelles as detected by 1H NMR. In a second example, combined 13C and 1H NMR chemical shift changes arising from application of high pressure, or upon micellization, of CyF provided site-specific details regarding micelle topology. In this fashion, bulk thermodynamics could be related to microscopic topological details within the detergent micelle.