EXAFS: a new approach to the structure of micellar aggregates

Self-assembly of bile salts and their mixed aggregates as building blocks for smart aggregates

The present communication offers a comprehensive overview of the self-assembly of bile salts emphasizing their mixed smart aggregates with a variety of amphiphiles. Using an updated literature survey, we have explored the dissimilar interactions of bile salts with different types of surfactants, phospholipids, ionic liquids, drugs, and a variety of natural and synthetic polymers. While assembling this review, special attention was also provided to the potency of bile salts to alter the size/shape of aggregates formed by several amphiphiles to use these aggregates for solubility improvement of medicinally important compounds, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and also to develop their smart delivery vehicles. A fundamental understanding of bile salt mixed aggregates will enable the development of new strategies for improving the bioavailability of drugs solubilized in newly developed potential hosts and to formulate smart aggregates of desired morphology for specific targeted applications. It enriches our existing knowledge of the distinct interactions exerted in mixed systems of bile salts with variety of amphiphiles. By virtue of this, researchers can get innovative ideas to construct novel nanoaggregates from bile salts by incorporating various amphiphiles that serve as a building block for smart aggregates for their numerous industrial applications.

Fluorescence properties of Schiff base - N,N'-bis(salicylidene) - 1,2-Phenylenediamine in presence of bile acid host

Fluorescence properties of Schiff base - N,N'-bis(salicylidene) - 1,2-phenylenediamine (LH2) is used to study the micelles formed by aggregation of different important bile acids like cholic acid, deoxycholic acid, chenodeoxycholic acid and glycocholic acid by steady state and picosecond time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. The fluorescence band intensity was found out to increase with concomitant red shift with gradual addition of different bile acids. Binding constant of the probe with different bile acids as well as critical micelle concentration was obtained from the variation of fluorescence intensity on increasing concentration of bile acids in the medium. The increase in fluorescence quantum yields, fluorescence decay times and substantial decrease in nonradiative decay rate constants in bile acids micellar environment points to the restricted motion of the fluorophore inside the micellar subdomains.

Deoxycholate bile acid directed synthesis of branched Au nanostructures for near infrared photothermal ablation

We report an approach for simple, reproducible and high-yield synthesis of branched GNPs directed by deoxycholate bile acid supramolecular aggregates in Au solution. A growth process involving stepwise trapping of the GNP seeds and Au ions in the deoxycholate bile acid solution yields multiple-branched GNPs. Upon NIR laser irradiation strong NIR absorption for branched GNPs induced photothermal-heating to destroy tumor cells. Subsequently, these branched GNPs were biofunctionalized with cRGD cell penetrating-targeting peptides for photothermal cancer treatment applications. Branched GNPs conjugated with cRGD peptides enhanced internalization of the branched GNPs in BxPC3 human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells and effectively ablated BxPC3 cells when irradiated with a NIR laser (808 nm). Their potential use as photothermal transducing agents was demonstrated in in vivo settings using a pancreatic cancer xenograft model. The tumors were effectively ablated with cRGD-branched GNPs injection and laser exposure without any observation of tumor recurrence. This firstly reported method for deoxycholate bile acid directed synthesis of branched GNPs opens new possibilities for the production of strong NIR absorbing nanostructures for selective nano-photothermolysis of cancer cells and the further design of novel materials with customized spectral and structural properties for broader applications.

Sodium desoxycholate-assisted capillary electrochromatography with methacrylate ester-based monolithic column on fast separation and determination of coumarin analogs in Angelica dahurica extract

A rapid and sensitive CEC method with methacrylate ester-based monolithic column has been developed for separation and determination of five coumarins (byakangelicin, oxypeucedanin hydrate, xanthotoxol, 5-hydroxy-8-methoxypsoralen and bergapten) in Angelica dahurica extract. Surfactant sodium desoxycholate (SDC) was introduced into the mobile phase as the pseudostationary to dynamically increase the selectivity of analytes instead of increasing the hydrophobicity of stationary phase. In addition, other factors, pH of phosphate buffer, ACN content and applied voltage, for instance, have also an obvious effect on the resolution but little on the retention time. Satisfactory separation of these five coumarins was achieved within 6 min under a 30:70 v/v ACN-buffer containing 20 mM sodium dihydrogen phosphate (NaH(2) PO(4) ) and 0.25 mM SDC at pH 2.51. The RSDs of intraday and interday for relative peak areas were less than 3.0% and 4.7%, respectively; and the recoveries were between 87.5% and 95.0%. The LODs were lower than 0.15 μg/mL and the LOQs were lower than 0.30 μg/mL, respectively, while calibration curves showed a good linearity (r(2) > 0.9979). Finally, five target coumarins from the crude extracts of A. dahurica were separated, purified, and concentrated by D-101 macroporous resin, and were successfully separated and quantitatively determined within 6 min.

Composition of aqueous solutions containing sodium glycocholate and glycodeoxycholate

Composition and existence range of aggregates formed by sodium glycocholate and glycodeoxycholate contemporary present in aqueous micellar and premicellar solutions were investigated. Solubility measurements of lead (II) glycocholate and glycodeoxycholate give analytical concentration of lead (II) and glycocholate and glycodeoxycholate, respectively. Electromotive force measurements provide the free concentration of hydrogen, sodium and lead (II) ions. Experimental data obtained at 25 degrees C and at three different concentrations of N(CH3)4Cl, used as a constant ionic medium, can be explained by assuming the presence of aggregates of different composition depending on the reagent and ionic medium concentrations. Next to two species containing only glycocholate or glycodeoxycholate, the presence of aggregates formed with the contemporary participation of both bile anions in different ratios was assumed. Species with the hydrogen ion participation are not present in appreciable quantity in the investigated concentration range. As expected, the size of aggregates increases by increasing reagent and ionic medium concentration. Most of the species can be explained with a "core + link" mechanism, where all the glycocholate aggregation numbers are even, while those of glycodeoxycholate are always multiple of three. Analogy and difference with aggregates formed by the two bile anions separately are discussed.

Composition of sodium cholate micellar solutions

To study the composition of sodium cholate solutions, an investigation was carried out at 25 degrees C and in N(CH3)4Cl, as a constant ionic medium, at three different concentrations (W = 0.100; 0.500 and 0.800 mol dm(-3)). Electromotive force measurements of three different galvanic cells, the first involving a glass electrode for hydrogen ions, the second an electrode for sodium ions and the third a lead amalgam electrode, were performed. Independently, lead (II) cholate solubility measurements in the presence of sodium ions were performed, as well. The experimental results obtained from both approaches were explained by assuming the formation of aggregates in cholate and sodium of different composition depending on W and on the cholate concentration. The maximum aggregation found number for cholate was 24 and even aggregation numbers were markedly predominant. Only two species with odd aggregation number were found, but at a low percentage. The assumed species and the relative constants were compared with those found for the other sodium salt of cholanic acids.

Probing the binding dynamics to sodium cholate aggregates using naphthalene derivatives as guests

The binding dynamics with bile salt aggregates for a series of naphthalene derivatives of different polarities was studied using fluorescence and laser flash photolysis. Fluorescence was employed to determine the nature of the binding site for each guest and the accessibility of the bound guest to quenchers. Laser flash photolysis was employed to study the mobility of the triplet states of the naphthalenes between the sodium cholate aggregates and the aqueous phase. Primary aggregates, which provide an environment protected from quenchers in the aqueous phase, bind 1- and 2-ethylnaphthalene as guests. The complexation dynamics with this type of aggregate is slow. 1- and 2-Naphthyl-1-ethanol, and 1- and 2-acetonaphthone bind to the secondary aggregates, which provide moderate protection from quenching and faster binding dynamics. The addition of salts lowered the cholate concentration at which primary aggregates were formed, but did not influence the formation of secondary aggregates.

Comparative study on the enantiomer separation of 1,1'-binaphthyl-2,2'diyl hydrogenphosphate and 1,1'-bi-2-naphthol by liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis using single and combined chiral selector systems

The chiral recognition ability of single and dual selectors, that were used as additives, have been investigated by HPLC and CE. Native beta- and gamma-cyclodextrins, permethylated beta-cyclodextrin, hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin, cholic acid and taurodeoxycholic acid sodium salts were applied as chiral selectors, whereas the atropisomers of 1,1'-binaphthyl-2,2'-diyl hydrogenphosphate, and 1,1'-bi-2-naphthol served as model compounds. It was found that all investigated selectors, except for gamma-cyclodextrin, display the same affinity pattern for binaphthyl enantiomers, i.e., binding the S more strongly than the R enantiomer. However, the differences in the phase distribution of chiral selectors led to the opposit elution order of enantiomers: with cyclodextrins, the first eluted is S enantiomer, while R is the first eluted for bile salts. Under the conditions studied, cyclodextrins (except gamma-cyclodextrin), as well as cholic acid sodium salts acting singly, enable the separation of 1,1'-binaphthyl-2,2'-diyl hydrogenphosphate enantiomers both by HPLC and CE methods, while 1,1'-bi-2-naphthol enantiomers were resolved only under CE conditions with permethylated cyclodextrin or bile salts. In both techniques the application of dual systems could improve resolution or make it worse (oreven cancel), depending on the sign of enantioselectivity of particular selectors, their concentrations and localization: mobile or stationary phase. It has been found that the mechanism of separation as well as interactions occurring between two selectors may be followed by using combined HPLC and CE methods. The obtained results proved that, as well as beta-CD, TM-beta-D and gamma-CD also form inclusion complexes with cholic acid sodium salts. The reversal of elution order may be realized by two procedures: changing a single selector, i.e., cyclodextrin on cholic acid sodium salt or vice versa, and by changing the proportion of selectors in the combined bile salt-cyclodextrin system.

Retention and separation studies of cholesterol and bile acids using thermostated thin-layer chromatography

The influence of temperature on retention and separation of cholesterol and bile acids, using reversed-phase thin-layer chromatography, was studied. As mobile phases methanol-water mixtures of various compositions were used. Chromatographic experiments were performed using vapor-saturated chambers at temperatures ranging from 5 to 60 degrees C. A linear relationship between R(M) values and temperature (1/T) as well as mobile phase composition was observed. The elution order of steroids under the conditions investigated was discussed. Each chromatogram was evaluated using simple optimization parameters and the best chromatographic conditions for the separation of multicomponent samples were chosen.

Separation of chiral compounds by capillary electrophoresis

This review presents the different chiral selectors used in capillary electrophoresis (CE) for the separation of enantiomers. The use of charged cyclodextrins, crown ethers, polysaccharides, proteins, natural and synthetic micelles, macrocyclic antibiotics and ergot alkaloids is discussed in detail. Neutral native and derivatized cyclodextrins are not treated because several review articles have already been published on this topic. Recent developments like the application of two chiral selectors in the same background electrolyte are highlighted.

Effects of bile salt structure on chiral separations with mixed micelles of bile salts and polyoxyethylene ethers using micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

The chiral resolving abilities of micellar solutions of four different bile salts alone and in mixtures with polyoxyethylene-4-dodecyl ether (C12E4) and methanol were investigated using MECC. The four bile salts investigated were the unconjugated sodium salts of cholic, deoxycholic, chenodeoxycholic and ursodeoxycholic acids. The test solutes included verapamil, norverapamil, gallopamil, bi-2-naphthol, atenolol and BAYK8644. The relative hydrophobicities of the micellar aggregates formed in solutions of binary mixtures of each bile salt with C12E4 were investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy using pyrene as a probe molecule. The observed enantiomeric resolution for the test compounds using these binary mixtures as MECC pseudo-stationary phases was determined. Correlations between micellar hydrophobicity for these solutions and chiral resolution of these test solutes are presented. The addition of C12E4 with or without methanol to solutions of sodium cholate and sodium deoxycholate enhanced the chiral resolution observed for compounds containing a longer hydrocarbon chain separating some of the major functional groups from the chiral center. The pure bile salt solutions generally provided better chiral resolution for the compounds where the major functional groups, such as aromatic rings, were closer to the chiral center.

Aggregation behavior of sodium fusidate in aqueous solution

We analyzed the freezing point depression and pNa measurements for aqueous solutions of sodium fusidate. At concentrations lower than 0.011 mol kg(-1), sodium fusidate behaves as a strong 1:1 electrolyte. At higher concentrations, sodium fusidate self-aggregates. To analyze the results two hypotheses on the monomer concentration are presented and discussed. The first one accepts that the monomer concentration, C(A), is constant and equal to 0.023 mol kg(-1). This concentration corresponds to a break point in the plot of the freezing point depression vs total sodium fusidate concentration, C(A)t. The second hypothesis accepts that C(A) increases with C(A)t following a leveling-off curve. Measurements of hydrodynamic radii and comparison with similar systems, such as sodium taurocholate, strongly support the second hypothesis. The results indicate that at concentrations lower than 0.08 mol kg(-1) the aggregation number increases from 2 to 3. Above this concentration, both the aggregation number and the fraction of bound counterions remain constant, with average values of 3.13 +/- 0.10 and 0.31 +/- 0.05, respectively. Such results indicate that for trimers only one Na+ counterion is involved per aggregate. We propose that this counterion shields the repulsion between the two nearest carboxylate groups which, according to a disklike model in which the monomers are packed with that group alternatively oriented up and down, should hold together. Values for the formation equilibrium constant of aggregates are also calculated. Its dependence with the aggregation number allows the determination of the reversible transfer of a free surfactant ion together with the associated counterions from the bulk solution to the aggregate, the resulting value being w(0) = -4.2k(B)T.

On the interaction of polypeptides with bile salts or bilirubin-IX alpha

Aqueous solutions formed by polypeptides, simple models of proteins, and bile salts (sodium cholate and deoxycholate, NaC and NaDC, respectively) or bilirubin-IX alpha (BR) have been studied by CD measurements. They could mimic more complicated biliary systems, thus supplying a possible interpretation of the behavior of some amino acid residues in the biliary proteins. The aggregation of NaDC and NaC in water can be monitored by CD measurements. Bile salts, in submicellar and micellar form, stabilize poly(L-Lys) (PLL) in alpha-helical conformation. The alpha-helix content increases with increasing bile salt concentration and ionic strength. NaDC seems to be a slightly better stabilizing agent of the alpha-helix conformation than NaC. Models characterized by hydrogen bonds between bile salts and PLL are proposed, also resorting to previous data available on the systems formed by NaDC and poly(L-Leu-L-Leu-L-Lys) (PLLL) or poly(L-Leu-L-Leu-L-Asp) (PLLA). Binding of BR to PLL, poly(D-Lys), poly(L-Glu), PLLL, and PLLA in water has been investigated by CD spectra in order to clarify the nature of the association complexes and the mechanism of the BR enantioselective complexation. Potential energy calculations provide binding models capable of explaining the enantioselective ability of the PLL and PLLL alpha-helices toward the left- and right-handed enantiomer of BR, respectively. BR is bound to -NH2 groups of PLL and PLLL lying on a right- and left-handed spiral, respectively. These results, together with those formerly obtained for some bile salts-BR systems, indicate that the selectivity originates from a binding that involves large regions of the BR molecule and gives rise, very probably, to moderate conformational changes from the "ridge tile" structure observed in the crystals. In some cases van der Waals forces can play a crucial role in the chiral recognition of bilirubin. Moreover, possible interaction models of BR with human serum albumin are proposed on the basis of a recent x-ray crystal structure of the protein.