Synthesis and aggregation behaviour of a new sultaine surfactant B Biointerfaces

The aggregation properties of a new sultaine surfactant have been studied in buffered aqueous solution at pH 7.4 under controlled condition of osmolarity. Spontaneously formed sultaine vesicles with a mean diameter of about 1μm can be observed by optical microscopy. The phase behaviour of the surfactant has been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Nile Red fluorescence. Two critical vesicular concentrations (CVC₁ and CVC₂) have been fluorimetrically measured, by using pyrene and Nile Red as the fluorescent probes. The two populations of vesicles behave differently as a consequence of their size. The stability of extruded large unilamellar vesicles (LUV) formed slightly above the CVC₁ has been evaluated in the temperature range 25–75°C by following the rate of spontaneous release of entrapped 5(6)-carboxyfluorescein (CF). The stability of the same vesicles at 70°C has also been investigated under osmotic stress obtained by adding NaCl or sucrose to the bulk solution. At a sultaine concentration above the CVC₂ LUV tend to associate and form stable larger closely packed aggregates as suggested by Dynamic Laser Light Scattering and rheological measurements.