Impact of Phenolic Antioxidants on Structural Properties of Micellar Solutions

Abstract

Antioxidants solubilized in micellar solutions can change micellar properties like the size and shape of micelles, critical micellar concentration (cmc) and viscosity. Interactions arising between antioxidants and the surfactant determine the locations of antioxidants and vice versa. The location and interaction are dependent on the type of both the antioxidant and surfactant. Influences of various antioxidants on the physical and structural properties were tested in micellar systems of cationic CTAB, non-ionic Brij 58 and anionic SDS. The antioxidants used to investigate the effects of gradually increasing lipophilicity were gallic acid (GA) and the gallate esters from methyl to octyl gallate (MG-OG). Hydroxy cinnamic acids (HCAs) like \(p\)-coumaric acid (pC), caffeic acid (CA), ferulic acid (FA) and sinapic acid (SA) were employed to observe effects of functional groups like hydroxyl and methoxy groups. Micellar size and shape determined by small angle neutron scattering (SANS), viscosity and cmc were chosen to characterize the antioxidant influence. In Brij 58 systems propyl gallate (PG) did not affect the cmc or aggregation number but decreased micellar size slightly due to an intercalation of PG into the region of the polyoxyethylene chain and the first adjacent alkyl chain methylene groups. In SDS systems the micellar size and cmc decreased in the presence of PG. This was attributed to PG residing in the Stern layer. However, in CTAB systems micelles swelled at low PG concentration and in the presence of GA, while higher PG concentrations and more lipophilic antioxidants led to a sphere-to-rod transition with a simultaneous increase in viscosity and decrease in cmc. This revealed the intercalation of antioxidants in the palisade layer of CTAB micelles entering into strong interactions of electrostatic and hydrophobic origin. It could be demonstrated that the interactions became stronger the more lipophil an antioxidant is and the more hydroxyl groups are attached to the aromatic ring. Differences in the location and interaction of antioxidant and micelles are proposed as being responsible for the effectiveness of antioxidants.