Solubilization of napthalene by sodium cholate and pattern of self-association of sodium cholate in 0.15 M sodium chloride

Naphthalene solubility was determined in aqueous 0.15 M NaCl containing sodium cholate in the 0-0.05 M concentration range at 25 +/- 0.1 degrees. Sodium cholate tends to self-associate in aqueous solutions. Most often, the association pattern has been described in terms of a monomer-micellar model in which it is assumed that no association occurs below the critical micelle concentration. By comparison of the experimental solubilization curve with curves calculated on the basis of the monomer-micellar model, it was shown that this model is inappropriate for the self-association pattern of sodium cholate. The solubility data were consistent with a model that assumes that sodium cholate associates to form dimers, trimers, and higher aggregates with an average aggregation number of 7.63. Model calculations suggest that naphthalene is solubilized by dimers and higher aggregates. Solubilization of naphthalene by trimers appears to be negligible.