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A Facile and Efficient Approach for the Production of Reversible Disulfide Cross-linked Micelles
Published on: December 23, 2016
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From Discs to Ribbons Networks: The Second Critical Micelle Concentration in Nonionic Sterol Solutions
Dganit Danino1, Ludmila Abezgauz1, Irina Portnaya1
1Department of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology , Haifa 3200003, Israel.
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
|April 1, 2016
Summary
Surfactants can form non-spherical discoidal assemblies at the first critical micelle concentration (CMC). At the second CMC, these transition into ribbons, revealing a new self-assembly pathway.
Area of Science:
- Physical Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Supramolecular Chemistry
Background:
- Amphiphiles typically self-assemble into spherical micelles at the first critical micelle concentration (CMC).
- A transition to cylindrical micelles, uniform in width but polydispersed in length, often occurs at the second CMC.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate a novel self-assembly pathway for nonionic sterol ChEO10.
- To explore the formation of non-spherical equilibrium assemblies at the CMC.
Main Methods:
- Observation of self-assembly of ChEO10 in solution.
- Analysis of aggregate structures formed at different concentrations and temperatures.
Main Results:
- ChEO10 forms monodisperse equilibrium disc assemblies at the first CMC.
- At the second CMC, discs transition into flat ribbons with uniform width and polydispersed length.
- Increased concentration or temperature promotes ribbon elongation, branching, and network formation.
Conclusions:
- Surfactants can form equilibrium nonspherical assemblies, specifically discs, at the CMC.
- Aggregate progression beyond the second CMC is similar for both disc and sphere-based geometries.
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