Cooperative aggregation

Contrary to hydrotropes, micelle-forming surfactants spontaneously self-aggregate cooperatively above the critical micelle concentration (cmc) even in the absence of solubilizate. Typical examples of micelle-forming surfactants include sodium dode-cylsulfate (SDS), dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB), cetyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide (CTAB), and heptaoxyethylene dodecyl ether (C12E7) (Scheme 2). 

Fig. 5. Protein folding. The unfolded polypeptide chain coUapses and assembles to form simple stmctural motifs such as -sheets and a-hehces by nucleation-condensation mechanisms involving the formation of hydrogen bonds and van der Waal s interactions. Small proteins (eg, chymotrypsin inhibitor 2) attain their final (tertiary) stmcture in this way. Larger proteins and multiple protein assembhes aggregate by recognition and docking of multiple domains (eg, -barrels, a-helix bundles), often displaying positive cooperativity. Many noncovalent interactions, including hydrogen bonding, van der Waal s and electrostatic interactions, and the hydrophobic effect are exploited to create the final, compact protein assembly. Further stmctural...

Size Isomers. In solution, hGH is a mixture of monomer, dimer, and higher molecular weight oligomers. Furthermore, there are aggregated forms of hGH found in both the pituitary and in the circulation (16,17). The dimeric forms of hGH have been the most carefully studied and there appear to be at least three distinct types of dimer a disulfide dimer connected through interchain disulfide bonds (8) a covalent or irreversible dimer that is detected on sodium dodecylsulfate- (SDS-)polyacrylamide gels (see Electroseparations, Electrophoresis) and is not a disulfide dimer (19,20) and a noncovalent dimer which is easily dissociated into monomeric hGH by treatment with agents that dismpt hydrophobic interactions in proteins (21). In addition, hGH forms a dimeric complex with ( 2). Scatchard analysis has revealed that two ions associate per hGH dimer in a cooperative... 

Formation of domains tiirongh tile cooperative aggregation of folding nuclei... 

The presence of a critical St content in ASt-x can also be seen in fluorescence spectra [29], This copolymer in aqueous solution shows an excimer emission peaking at 325 nra. As shown in Fig. 8, the intensity of the excimer emission increases, while the monomer emission decreases, with increasing St content. Eventually the excimer dominates the monomer emission at an St content of 72 mol%. The excimer emission becomes apparent at an St content of about 50 mol%, which agrees with the critical St content estimated by viscometry and NMR spectroscopy. The existence of the critical St content suggests the hydro-phobic self-aggregation to be a cooperative process. 

Li C., Register R.A., and Cooper S.L., Direct observation of ionic aggregates in sulfonated polystyrene ionomers, Polymer, 30, 1227, 1989. 

In the case of amphiphilic molecules, characterized by the coexistence of spatially separated apolar (alkyl chains) and polar moieties, both parts cooperate to drive the intermolecular aggregation. This simple but pivotal peculiarity makes amphiphilic molecules soluble in both polar and apolar solvents and able to realize, in suitable conditions, an impressive variety of molecular aggregates characterized by spatially separated apolar and polar domains, local order at short times and fluidity at long times, and differences in size, shape (linear or branched chains, cyclic or globular aggregates, extended fractal-like molecular networks), and lifetime. 

Two examples from literature illustrate this approach nicely. Moore et al.114 assembled thiol-terminated long-chain S204-crown TTF onto Au and Pt surfaces by thiolato-metal bonds (see Figure 12). In the presence of various cations, most successfully Ag+, small differences were observed in the first oxidation potential (typically 60-80 mV). Similar responses were observed in solution state experiments with the same materials. The SAMs were stable when electrochemically cycled over the first oxidation wave but unstable when scanned beyond this point. Liu et al.115,116 prepared SAMs of 45 and 46 on Au substrate. Anchored to the solid surface by four Au S bonds per molecule, these SAMs were stable for hundreds of cycles over the full oxidation range. In response to the presence of Na+ both the TTF oxidation waves were shifted anodically by 55-60 mV. This observation was ascribed to either surface aggregation or cooperativity of neighbouring crown rings. 

Two other general ways of treating micellar kinetic data should be noted. Piszkiewicz (1977) used equations similar to the Hill equation of enzyme kinetics to fit variations of rate constants and surfactant concentration. This treatment differs from that of Menger and Portnoy (1967) in that it emphasizes cooperative effects due to substrate-micelle interactions. These interactions are probably very important at surfactant concentrations close to the cmc because solutes may promote micellization or bind to submicellar aggregates. Thus, eqn (1) and others like it do not fit the data for dilute surfactant, especially when reactants are hydrophobic and can promote micellization. 

COOPERATIVE AGGREGATION OF AMPHIPHILIC MOLECULES AT AN AIR/WATER INTERFACE... 

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