Study of the formation of micelles and their structure by the spin probe method

Abstract

The aim. To study the surfactant solutions depending on the type and concentration of surfactants as well as their interaction with some excipients by spin probe method.
 Materials and methods. Solutions of ionic and nonionic surfactants containing 4 spin probes differing in molecular structure and solubility were studied. Electronic paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra were obtained and their type and parameters were determined. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) was determined from the surface tension isotherm, and the rheological parameters were studied by rotational viscometry.
 Results. The shape of the EPR spectra and the spectral parameters of the spin probes depended on both the surfactant concentration and the molecular structure and solubility of these spin probes. There was a concentration range in which associations with surfactants formed at surfactant concentrations below the CMC. At surfactant concentrations above the CMC and up to 1 %, the structure of the surfactant micelles did not change. In the micelles, the surfactant modelling probes rotated rapidly about the long axis of the molecule and perpendicular to it, while they were fixed in the radial direction. The rotational diffusion of probes dissolved in water was much faster. The micelle cores formed by nonionic surfactant and P338 were more viscous compared to ionic surfactants. Surfactant micelles were anisotropic in viscosity, and different segments of the alkyl chains of surfactant modelling probes had different dynamic properties. The packing of molecules in the micelles was more ordered and compacted at the level of the fifth carbon atom. The interactions between surfactant and probe and between cationic surfactant and disodium edetate were determined from the parameters of the EPR spectra. The relationship between the changes in the parameters of the EPR spectra with increasing temperature, the P338 content in the solutions, and the sol-gel transition was revealed. Solubilization of lipophilic substances by P338 solutions increased due to the interaction of propylene glycol and P338.
 Conclusions. The shape and parameters of the EPR spectra in real solutions and micellar solutions of surfactants were different and also depended on the structure and solubility of spin probes. Surfactant micelles were anisotropic in viscosity, and different segments of the alkyl chains of surfactant modelling probes had different dynamic properties. The packing of molecules in the micelles was more ordered and compacted at the level of the fifth carbon atom. The EPR spectra and/or their parameters changed due to the interaction between surfactant and probe, surfactant and other substances, or sol-gel transitions in P338 solutions