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The Use Of High-Sensitivity Differential Scanning Calorimetry To Characterize Dilute Aqueous Dispersions Of Surfactants .2. Further-Studies On Polyoxyethylene Alkyl Ethers

Buckton, Graham, Armstrong, Jonathan K., Chowdhry, Babur, Leharne, Stephen, Beezer, Anthony E. (1994) The Use Of High-Sensitivity Differential Scanning Calorimetry To Characterize Dilute Aqueous Dispersions Of Surfactants .2. Further-Studies On Polyoxyethylene Alkyl Ethers. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 110 (2). pp. 179-187. ISSN 0378-5173. (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:20410)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.

Abstract

Polyoxyethylene alkyl ether surfactants have been investigated by use of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in the solid state, and high-sensitivity DSC (HSDSC) for dispersions in phosphate-buffered saline. The surfactants had either 16 or 18 carbons in their alkyl chain, and either 2, 3, 4 or 7 oxyethylene groups in their polar head groups. Two regions of transition were observed for each surfactant (pre-transition and main transition). The pre-transition was identical in both the solid and dispersed state and was seen to be due to many cooperating molecules. It was argued that the pre-transition was related to a solid-state structure. The main transition was significantly different in the aqueous environment than in the dry state. Relationships existed between the structure of the surfactants (both the length of the hydrocarbon chain and the hydrophilic head group) and the nature of the transitions. For the main transition the structure of the dispersion was stabilised as the nature of the surfactant became more hydrophobic. There are dear analogies between the nature of these surfactants and the behaviour of lipid bilayers (e.g., both systems have two transition regions). The fact that the behaviour is similar may well allow the toxicity of these surfactants to be understood, if they form cooperative structures between the surfactant and the lipids.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled keywords: SURFACTANT; CALORIMETRY; PRETRANSITION
Subjects: R Medicine > RM Therapeutics. Pharmacology
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research
Depositing User: P. Ogbuji
Date Deposited: 04 Jul 2009 06:55 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 09:58 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/20410 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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