Aqueous solutions of nonionic surfactants are of interest for bioprocesses, particularly as solubilizing agents for hydrophobic substances. To design such processes, the data on partition coefficients of solutes between micelles and their aqueous surrounding (P mw) are of high value. An extended understanding of the partition behavior can be achieved from the structural information such as the micelle size and micelles composition. In this work, mixtures of nonionic surfactants Triton X-100 and Brij 35 were under study. The data on critical micelle concentrations showed partly non-ideal behavior of the solutions. The compositions of mixed micelles at different molar Brij 35/Triton X-100 ratios in the surfactant mixture were estimated from the data on self-diffusion coefficients (NMR diffusometry) and were calculated within the regular solution approach and predicted by Motomura's model. The change of the mixed micelle composition in dependence on the total surfactant concentration was observed. It has been found, that the average value of the mixed micelles radii is ∼4 nm. Whereas, the polydispersity indexes and the aggregation numbers increased with Triton X-100 fraction. Moreover, the P mw values of different non-dissociated solutes (phenyl derivatives with various functional groups) were determined by means of micellar liquid chromatography (MLC) and were predicted using the thermodynamic model COSMOmic, an extension of COSMO-RS. In general, it has been proved that COSMOmic is able to predict P mw in the mixed micellar system formed by nonionic surfactants. The obtained data show the possibility of modulating the partition behavior of solutes using the mixtures of nonionic surfactants. Apart from the hydrophobicity, the «surfactants – solute» specific interactions play an important role in the partition behavior of the investigated systems.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)45-55
Number of pages11
JournalColloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects
Volume538
DOIs
StatePublished - 5 Feb 2018

    Scopus subject areas

  • Surfaces and Interfaces
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Colloid and Surface Chemistry

    Research areas

  • Chromatography, Critical micelle concentration, Diffusion in liquids, Hydrophobicity, Liquid chromatography, Micelles, Mixtures, Solutions, Surface active agents, Micellar liquid chromatography, Mixed micellar system, Mixed surfactant systems, Partition coefficient, Polydispersity indices, Self-diffusion coefficients, Structural information, Surfactant concentrations, Nonionic surfactants, functional group, polidocanol, solubilizer, triton x 100, aqueous solution, Article, bioprocess, chemical interaction, concentration (parameters), dispersity, hydrophobicity, micellar liquid chromatography, micelle, nuclear magnetic resonance, particle size, partition coefficient, priority journal, solute, thermodynamics, COSMOmic modelling, Nonionic surfactant, Micelles composition, COMPETITIVE SOLUBILIZATION, COEFFICIENTS, CLOUD-POINT EXTRACTION, MOLECULAR-DYNAMICS SIMULATIONS, SELF-DIFFUSION, CETYLTRIMETHYLAMMONIUM BROMIDE, AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS, SODIUM DODECYL-SULFATE, TRITON X-100, GENERAL FORCE-FIELD

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