The influence of lanthanide-(III)-nitrates on adsorbed monolayers of dodecylphosphorylcholine at the air-water interface.

Adsorption layers at the air-water interface formed from the soluble zwitterionic surfactant dodecylphosphorylcholine (DPC) serving as a soluble model substance for phospho-lipids were characterized with respect to their equilibrium and dynamic surface properties. To clarify the effect of ionic interactions with electrolyte present in the bulk phase, surface rheological properties upon addition of Ce(NO3)3 and Yb(NO3)3 were determined. In order to account for the surface activity of the nitrate ion, comparative measurements using NaNO3 were carried out additionally. Further experimental information on the bulk hydration characteristics of the aqueous solutions was obtained using dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS). A possible mechanism causing the deviating surface dilatational modulus E in terms of ion specificity is suggested.

Low Endotoxin Recovery-Masking of Naturally Occurring Endotoxin.

Endotoxins are cell wall components of Gram-negative bacteria. A release of endotoxins into the human blood stream results in an inflammation reaction that can lead to life-threatening conditions like sepsis. Therefore, control for endotoxin contamination of intravenously administered drugs is crucial. Drugs are usually tested for putative endotoxin contamination with Limulus-based tests. However, validity of the compendial test procedures is questioned in the case of low endotoxin recovery (LER). To assure validity, regulatory authorities request hold-time studies of endotoxin in addition to pharmacopoeial requirements. Within these studies, endotoxin is added (spiked) to an undiluted product. The spiked product is held for a certain period of time and subsequently diluted for endotoxin determination. Due to the known heterogeneity of endotoxin the question has been raised as to which source represents the most adequate endotoxin spike. In the present study, endotoxin hold-time studies were analyzed by using different sources of endotoxin. Highly purified endotoxin, crude endotoxin extracts (Naturally Occurring Endotoxin) from different bacterial species and varied growth conditions as well as endogenous endotoxin contaminations were investigated. The results clearly demonstrate that endotoxin masking-an effect of LER-is dependent on the endotoxin source used. Various parameters such as bacterial strain and growth conditions lead to different masking susceptibilities. Due to these effects it is impossible to predict the susceptibility of bacterial endotoxin contamination to LER. In order to determine whether a sample is prone to LER, an endotoxin spike that is susceptible to LER is required.

Simultaneous measurement of the thickness and the lifetime of a foam lamella.

Despite the important role of foams in industrial applications, few methods for determining the stability are present. By extending the existing light reflection-based apparatus, additional information about a single foam lamella can be obtained. Evaluation of these data delivers insight into the thinning process of the lamella. The potential of this technique is shown for the analysis of two surfactants with different head group lengths (Lutensol XP 100 and Lutensol XP 140).

The surface rheological signature of the geometric isomers of an azobenzene-surfactant.

The equilibrium and dynamic surface properties of a photosensitive azobenzene-surfactant subject to illumination with UV and Vis-light leading to the respective geometric cis- and trans-isomers were studied. The adsorption layers formed by the soluble surfactant were characterized by pendant drop tensiometry and surface rheology using the oscillating bubble technique. Aqueous solutions corresponding to the geometric isomers could clearly be distinguished in terms of both their equilibrium and dynamic surface properties. The frequency dependence of the surface dilatational modulus could be described by the extended Lucassen-van den Tempel (LvdT)-model. These findings can be interpreted in terms of the changes of the dipole moment. Furthermore, they shed some light on the relation between the molecular structure and macroscopic properties of the adsorption layer.

Investigation of the kinetics and mechanism of low endotoxin recovery in a matrix for biopharmaceutical drug products.

The inability to detect endotoxin added to undiluted drug samples has been called: Low Endotoxin Recovery (LER). The phenomenon has caused concerns amongst drug manufacturing quality control scientists in that manufactured solutions contaminated with endotoxin could show false-negative results via routine Limulus-based tests. The time-dependent appearance of LER has been analyzed in detail to provide a better understanding of the mechanism. The assumption has been that the root-cause of LER involves the interplay of endotoxin with surfactants and results in aggregate structures that are complexed with surfactants. The endotoxin molecules when complexed with surfactants are not accessible for Limulus-based detection. The results demonstrate a predominant role of complex-forming agents. It was shown that although the presence of surfactants is a strong prerequisite for masking, it does not determine the kinetics of endotoxin masking. Interestingly, the endotoxin concentration itself had no substantial impact on LER kinetics. By adjusting the ratios of complex-forming constituents, including surfactant, chelator and endotoxin, and by testing the order in which the constituents are added, a new model for simulating masking kinetics has been determined. Our work provides for the first time a model to simulate masking kinetics of endotoxin which lends a better understanding of LER.

Measurement of the lifetime of individual foam lamellae.

Foams play a crucial role in a number of practical applications. Their analysis in terms of stability is subject to a large number of parameters. An automated, light reflection based device for the measurement of the lifetime of a single foam lamella of aqueous surfactant solutions in contact with the liquid and gas phases is proposed. The capability of the method is shown for the analysis of the cationic and anionic model surfactants hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) with saturated humidity, respectively. A statistical approach for analysis of the individual foam lamella lifetimes is presented and a comparison to the foam stability parameters obtained from a foam column device is presented.

The Role of Surface Viscosity in the Escape Mechanism of the Stenus Beetle.

Beetles of the species Stenus comma live and hunt close to ponds and rivers, where they occasionally fall on the water surface. To escape this jeopardized state, the beetle developed a strategy relying on the excretion of a secretion containing the substances stenusine and norstenusine. They reduce surface tension and propel the bug to the saving river bank. These substances were synthesized and analyzed with respect to their equilibrium and dynamic adsorption properties at the air-water interface (pH 7, 23 ± 1 °C). The surface dilatational rheological characteristics in a frequency range from 2 to 500 Hz at molar bulk concentrations of 20.6 mmol L(-1) were studied using the oscillating bubble technique. Both alkaloids formed surface viscoelastic adsorption layers. The frequency dependence of the surface dilatational modulus E could successfully be described by the extended Lucassen-van den Tempel model accounting for a nonzero intrinsic surface viscosity κ. The findings confirmed a dual purpose of the spreading alkaloids in the escape mechanism of the Stenus beetle. Next to generating a surface pressure, a transition to surface viscoelastic behavior of the adsorbed layers was observed.

Masking of endotoxin in surfactant samples: Effects on Limulus-based detection systems.

Over the last few decades Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) has been the most sensitive method for the detection of endotoxins (Lipopolysaccharides) and is well accepted in a broad field of applications. Recently, Low Endotoxin Recovery (LER) in biopharmaceutical drug products has been noticed, whereby the detection of potential endotoxin contaminations is not ensured. Notably, most of these drug products contain surfactants, which can have crucial effects on the detectability of endotoxin. In order to analyze the driving forces of LER, endotoxin detection in samples containing nonionic surfactants in various buffer systems was investigated. The results show that the process of LER is kinetically controlled and temperature-dependent. Furthermore, only the simultaneous presence of nonionic surfactants and components capable of forming metal complexes resulted in LER. In addition, capacity experiments show that even hazardous amounts of endotoxin can remain undetectable within such formulation compositions. In conclusion, the LER phenomenon is caused by endotoxin masking and not by test interference. In this process, the supramolecular structure of endotoxin is altered and exhibits only a limited susceptibility in binding to the Factor C of Limulus-based detection systems. We propose a two-step mechanism of endotoxin masking by complex forming agents and nonionic surfactants.

Impact of the imaginary part of the surface dilatational modulus on the splashing behavior of drops.

The relation between the complex surface dilatational modulus E of aqueous surfactant solutions and the splashing behavior of their drops on liquid surfaces was investigated. The surface dilatational modulus E of selected surfactant systems has been determined in the frequency range of 3 to 500 Hz by means of the oscillating bubble technique. According to the functional dependence of the phase ϕ of the complex modulus E(ω, c)exp[iϕ(ω, c)] at higher frequencies, adsorption layers can be classified as surface elastic or surface viscoelastic. Each behavior shows pronounced differences in drop splashing experiments. The impact of a drop on the liquid was monitored with a high-speed camera. The splash of a drop is a rather complex phenomenon, so the focus of this article is to establish a relationship between the imaginary part of the surface dilatational modulus E and the height of the drop rebound. These findings may be of importance for formulations in crop protection, introducing a chemical way to influence the impact of drops on solid and liquid interfaces.

Is surface layering of aqueous alkali halides determined by ion pairing in the bulk solution?

This contribution aims to elucidate the connection between ion-ion-solvent interactions in the bulk of aqueous electrolyte solutions and the properties of their liquid-air interface. In particular, we were interested in the conditions under which ion pairs form at the surface and whether this is linked to ion pairing in the bulk. For this reason different combinations of hard (Cl(-), Li(+)) and soft ions (I(-), Cs(+)) were investigated. Ion hydration and possible ion association in the bulk was probed with dielectric relaxation spectroscopy. This technique monitors the cooperative reorientation of the dipolar solvent molecules and detects all ion-pair species possibly present in the solution. At the interface, the formation of contact ion pairs was investigated by infrared-visible-sum frequency spectroscopy (SFG). This nonlinear optical technique possesses an inherent surface specificity and can be used for the characterization of interfacial water. The intensity of the SFG-active vibrational stretching modes depends on the number of oriented water molecules. The electric field at the surface of a charged aqueous interface aligns the water dipoles, which in turn increases the SFG response. Hence, the enhancement of the oscillator strengths of the water vibrational modes can be used to draw some conclusions on the strengths and geometrical extension of the electric field. The formation of ion pairs at the interface reduces the intensity of the band associated with hydrogen-bonded water. The underlying theory is presented. The combined data show that there are no contact ion pairs in the bulk of the fluid and--at best--only small amounts of solvent shared ion pairs. On the other hand, the combination of hard/hard or soft/soft ions leads to the formation of ion pairs at the liquid-air interface.

Why fluorination of the polar heads reverses the positive sign of the dipole potential of Langmuir monolayers: a vibrational sum frequency spectroscopic study.

Natural nonionic amphiphiles forming monolayers, bilayers, micelles, or biomembranes create a positive dipole potential at the boundary with water. In a series of papers we have reported on Langmuir monolayers with CF3 terminals of the polar heads, which show a negative surface dipole potential ΔV (Petrov , J. G.; Andreeva, T. D.; Kurt, D. K.; Möhwald, H. J. Phys. Chem. B 2005, 109, 14102). Here we use vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy (SF) to study the origin of the opposite ΔV signs of Langmuir films of CH3(CH2)20COCH2CH3 (ethyl ether, EE) and CH3(CH2)20COCH2CF3 (fluorinated ethyl ether, FEE). The vibrational sum frequency spectra are recorded at the same film density of the S-phase of the EE and FEE monolayers and analyzed in the spectral regions of OH, COC, CH3, and CF3 stretching vibrations because these functional groups could be responsible for the different dipole potentials. We compare the rearrangement of the pure water surface by EE and FEE monolayers and the conformations of EE and FEE polar heads. The analysis is performed according to the three-capacitor model of the dipole potential of Langmuir monolayers (Demchak, R. T.; Fort, T., Jr. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 1974, 46, 191). The results show that reversal of the ΔV sign caused by fluorination of the polar heads originates from the upward-oriented CF3 terminals of the FEE heads, whose negative normal dipole moment component determines the negative dipole potential of the FEE monolayer.

Correlation between the molecular structure and photoresponse in aliphatic self-assembled monolayers with azobenzene tailgroups.

We have compared the structural and photoisomerization properties of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) comprising either the trans or cis isomers of azobenzene terminated dithiolane with in-chain amide unit, viz., 4-(phenyldiazenyl)phenyl-4-(1,2-dithiolane-3-yl)-butylcarboxamide ( 1). These films were prepared on Au(111) from solutions of both isomers. Structure and composition of the SAMs were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy. The photoresponse of the films was monitored in real time by ellipsometry. SAMs fabricated from the trans isomer were found to be densely packed and highly ordered. These films did not show any discernible photoresponse upon irradiation with UV light, which, under favorable conditions, triggers the trans- cis isomerization. In contrast, films prepared from solutions containing predominantly the cis isomer were loosely packed and mostly disordered but exhibited reversible photoreactivity. The results confirm that steric effects, i.e., available free volume, play a dominant role for the photoresponse of aliphatic SAMs bearing the photoactive azobenzene group. The crystal structure of 1 ( trans isomer) exhibits a row-like aggregation of neighboring molecules by weak hydrogen bonds and can be taken as a model for the arrangement of 1 in the monolayer films. Further, in addition to the surface coordination behavior, we have also mimicked the chemisorption of the 1,2-dithiolane moiety onto the gold substrate in molecular coordination chemistry in oxidative addition reactions with the zero-valent platinum complex [Pt(PPh 3) 4].

Aqueous ionic and complementary zwitterionic soluble surfactants: molecular dynamics simulations and sum frequency generation spectroscopy of the surfaces.

An aqueous ionic surfactant, 1-dodecyl-4-(dimethylamino)pyridinium (DMP) bromide, and the corresponding zwitterion 2-[4-(dimethylamino)pyridinio]dodecanoate (DPN) were explored by means of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and, for the ionic system, by infrared-visible sum frequency generation (IR-vis SFG). The molecular structure of the interfacial layer was investigated for the ionic and zwitterionic systems as a function of surfactant concentration, both in water and in salt (KF or KBr) solutions, by MD simulations in a slab geometry. The buildup of the surface monolayer and a sublayer was monitored, and density and orientational profiles of the surfactants were evaluated. The difference between the ionic and zwitterionic systems and the effect of the added salt were analyzed at the molecular level. The results of MD simulations were compared to those of nonlinear optical spectroscopy measurements. IR-vis SFG was employed to study the DMP ionic surfactant in water and upon addition of simple salts. The influence of added salts on the different molecular moieties at the interface was quantified in detail experimentally.

A study of kinetic molecular exchange processes in the medium frequency range by surface SHG on an oscillating bubble.

The dilatational properties of fluid surfaces and interfaces have been comprehensively investigated in recent years. For example, an improved oscillating bubble device provided experimental results that allow for critical testing of established surface models, such as the Lucassen/van den Tempel (LvdT) model. The comparison of the LvdT model with the oscillating bubble experiments demonstrates a mismatch between the model parameters. For example, near the CMC or the limit of solubility the calculated parameters of surfactant solutions become unrealistically large. The deviation can be explained by the introduction of more detailed surface models, in particular by the modification of the effective thickness of the surface layer, its internal structure and the molecular exchange processes between these structures. For the verification of such processes an experimental setup was realized which allows for an independent determination of the instantaneous adsorption state at the surface of an oscillating bubble inside a surfactant solution. The setup utilizes the Second Harmonic Generation (SHG)--effect at the air-solution interface generated by the light of a pulsed LASER. The set-up is described in detail, and the results of a first experimental series are presented and discussed in this paper. As system, aqueous solutions of the fluortenside F381 were used.