Nuclear magnetic resonance investigation of the effect of ph on micelle formation by the amino acid-based surfactant undecyl L-phenylalaninate

Date

2018-02-14

Authors

Rothbauer, Gabriel A.
Rutter, Elisabeth A.
Reuter-Seng, Chelsea
Vera, Simon
Billiot, Eugene
Fang, Yayin
Billiot, Fereshteh
Morris, Kevin F.

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Publisher

AOCS

Abstract

Micelle formation by the anionic amino acid-based surfactant undecyl l-phenylalaninate (und-Phe) was investigated as a function of pH in solutions containing either Na+, l-arginine, l-lysine, or l-ornithine counterions. In each mixture, the surfactant's critical micelle concentration (CMC) was the lowest at low pH and increased as solutions became more basic. Below pH 9, surfactant solutions containing l-arginine and l-lysine had lower CMC than the corresponding solutions with Na+ counterions. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) diffusometry and dynamic light scattering studies revealed that und-Phe micelles with Na+ counterions had hydrodynamic radii of approximately 15 Å throughout the investigated pH range. Furthermore, l-arginine, l-lysine, and l-ornithine were found to bind most strongly to the micelles below pH 9 when the counterions were cationic. Above pH 9, the counterions became zwitterionic and dissociated from the micelle surface. In und-Phe/l-arginine solution, counterion dissociation was accompanied by a decrease in the hydrodynamic radius of the micelle. However, in experiments with l-lysine and l-ornithine, micelle radii remained the same at low pH when counterions were bound and at high pH when they were not. This result suggested that l-arginine is attached perpendicular to the micelle surface through its guanidinium functional group with the remainder of the molecule extending into solution. Contrastingly, l-lysine and l-ornithine likely bind parallel to the micelle surface with their two amine functional groups interacting with different surfactant monomers. This model was consistent with the results from two-dimensional ROESY (rotating frame Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy) NMR experiments. Two-dimensional NMR also showed that in und-Phe micelles, the aromatic rings on the phenylalanine headgroups were rotated toward the hydrocarbon core of micelle.

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Keywords

nuclear magnetic resonance, nuclear magnetic, nuclear, effects, micelle formation, amino acid surfactant, micelle, counterions, nmr

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Citation

Rothbauer, G.A., Rutter, E.A., Reuter‐Seng, C., Vera, S., Billiot, E.J., Fang, Y., Billiot, F.H. and Morris, K.F., 2018. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Investigation of the Effect of pH on Micelle Formation by the Amino Acid‐Based Surfactant Undecyl l‐Phenylalaninate. Journal of surfactants and detergents, 21(1), pp.139-153.