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Non-Ionic Fluorosurfactants for Droplet-Based in vivo Applications
Heidi L van de Wouw1,2, Shuo-Ting Yen3,4, Manon Valet3
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, 607 Charles E. Young Drive E., Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in English)
|September 28, 2024
Summary
Researchers developed novel non-ionic fluorosurfactants by combining polyethylene glycol (PEG) and perfluoropolyether (PFPE) segments. These surfactants effectively lower interfacial tension for fluorocarbon oil-in-water emulsions, enhancing biomedical applications.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Chemical Engineering
- Biophysics
Background:
- Fluorocarbon oils offer unique inertness and bioorthogonality for biomedical uses.
- Stabilizing fluorocarbon oil-in-water emulsions requires non-ionic fluorosurfactants with low interfacial tension (IFT).
- A lack of suitable non-ionic fluorosurfactants limits the integration of fluorocarbon oils into biological systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and characterize novel non-ionic fluorosurfactants for stabilizing fluorocarbon oil phases in aqueous environments.
- To achieve low interfacial tension between fluorocarbon oils and water using custom-designed surfactants.
- To evaluate the performance of these surfactants in a biological application.
Main Methods:
- Covalent bonding of polyethylene glycol (PEG) segments with perfluoropolyether (PFPE) segments to create fluorosurfactants.
- Synthesis of a surfactant panel with varying molecular weights (0.64–66 kDa) and hydrophilic-lipophilic balances.
- Measurement of interfacial tension between HFE-7700 fluorocarbon oil and water.
- Application of a selected surfactant (PEG5PFPE1) for mechanical force measurements in zebrafish.
Main Results:
- Developed non-ionic fluorosurfactants exhibiting low interfacial tensions (1.4–17.8 mN m⁻¹).
- Optimized surfactant structure to achieve minimal IFT between HFE-7700 and water.
- Demonstrated poor water solubility for most surfactants, enabling co-introduction with oils and minimal leaching.
- Achieved exceptional sensitivity in mechanical force measurements using PEG5PFPE1 in zebrafish.
Conclusions:
- Novel PEG-PFPE non-ionic fluorosurfactants effectively reduce interfacial tension for fluorocarbon oil emulsions.
- These custom surfactants offer improved stability and integration of fluorocarbon oils in aqueous biomedical settings.
- The developed fluorosurfactants show promise for sensitive biophysical measurements, as demonstrated in zebrafish studies.
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