Perfluoroalkylated telomers derived from tris(hydroxymethyl)acrylamidomethane as surfactants and co-surfactants in fluorocarbon emulsions

Abstract

The ability of perfluoroalkylated telomers derived from tris(hydroxymethyl)acrylamidomethane (TAC) to stabilize fluorocarbon emulsions has been investigated. For this purpose, 50% w/v emulsions of perfluorodecalin (FDC) and perfluoro-octyl bromide (PFOB) were prepared with a total 3% w/v of surfactant and were compared with emulsions prepared with Pluronic F-68 ® or egg yolk phospholipids (EYP). When used as the sole surfactant, telomers 1 (TAC with a C 6F 13 chain and a number average degree of polymerization n ∼ 6) and 2 (C 8F 17TAC, n ∼ 6) produced FDC emulsions that were more stable than with Pluronic F-68 alone; when compared to EYP no improvement was found. When associated to other, less hydrophilic perfluoroalkylated surfactants, such as the monoadduct 3 (C 6F 13TAC, n = 1) or [1- O-(perfluoro-octyl)-2′-propenyl]xylitol ( 4), for certain formulations these telomers resulted in somewhat enhanced stabilization of both FDC and PFOB emulsions. In some cases, the emulsions were as stable as those prepared with EYP alone. When telomer 1 was used as a co-emulsifier with EYP, no noticeable stabilization was observed; with Pluronic F-68 emulsion stability was reduced.