Stabilization of diketo tautomer of curcumin by premicellar anionic surfactants: UV-Visible, fluorescence, tensiometric and TD-DFT evidences.

A newly observed UV band of aqueous curcumin, a biologically important molecule, in presence of anionic surfactants, viz., sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS), sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS), and sodium dodecylsulfonate (SDSN) in buffered aqueous solutions has been studied experimentally and theoretically. The 425 nm absorption band of curcumin disappears and a new UV-band is observed at 355 nm on addition of the surfactants in the submicellar concentration range which is reversed as the surfactant concentration approaches the critical micelle concentration (CMC). The observed spectral absorption, fluorescence intensity and surface tension behavior, under optimal experimental conditions of submicellar concentration ranges of the surfactants in the pH range of 2.00-7.00, indicate that the new band is due to the ß-diketo tautomer of curcumin stabilized by interactions between curcumin and the anionic surfactants. The stabilization of the diketo tautomer by submicellar anionic surfactants described here as well as by submicellar cationic surfactant, reported recently, is unique as this is the only such behavior observed in presence of submicellar surfactants of both charge types. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical calculations using ab initio density functional theory combined with time dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations.

Acid-base equilibrium of anionic dyes partially bound to micelles of nonionic surfactants.

The acid-base equilibria of the sulfonephthalein dyes, namely, bromothymol blue, thymol blue, and cresol red, in aqueous nonionic micellar solutions of Triton X-100, Tween-20, Tween-40, Tween-60, and Tween-80 have been investigated. The equilibrium constants of the partition of the dyes between micellar and aqueous pseudophases have been determined spectrophotometrically at fixed pH. The K(ass) increased with the surfactants in the order Tween-80