Impact of biogenic amine molecular weight and structure on surfactant adsorption at the air–water interface

Abstract

The oligoamines, such as ethylenediamine to pentaethylenetetramine, and the aliphatic biogenic amines, such as putrescine, spermidine and spermine, strongly interact with anionic surfactants, such as sodium dodecylsulfate, SDS. It has been shown that this results in pronounced surfactant adsorption at the air–water interface and the transition from monolayer to multilayer adsorption which depends upon solution pH and oligoamine structure. In the neutron reflectivity, NR, and surface tension, ST, results presented here the role of the oligoamine structure on the adsorption of SDS is investigated more fully using a range of different biogenic amines. The effect of the extent of the intra-molecular spacing between amine groups on the adsorption has been extended by comparing results for cadavarine with putrescine and ethylenediamine. The impact of more complex biogenic amine structures on the adsorption has been investigated with the aromatic phenethylamine, and the heterocyclic amines histamine and melamine. The results provide an important insight into how surfactant adsorption at interfaces can be manipulated by the addition of biogenic amines, and into the role of solution pH and oligoamine structure in modifying the interaction between the surfactant and oligoamine. The results impact greatly upon potential applications and in understanding some of the important biological functions of biogenic amines.