Micellar microphase

Proximity effects arising from confining both reactants to the micellar microphase have also been demonstrated. For example, the efficiency of reductive quenching... 

Like many other amphiphilic surfactants, the Pluronic copolymers used in SP1049C formulation spontaneously form micelles at concentrations equal to or exceeding the critical micellar concentration (CMC). At polymer concentration above CMC, the dmg added to the system is partitioned between the water phase and the micellar microphase. The equilibrium between the micelle-incorporated dmg and the dmg present in the water phase is described by the partitioning coefficient (P), which is equal to the ratio between the local concentration of the drug in the micellar microphase and its concentration in the water phase. 

The partitioning of the drug between the micellar microphase and the water phase depends on both the dmg and polymer stmctural properties. At polymer concentrations exceeding CMC, the dmg/polymer composition consists of three components free dmg, dmg-micelle complexes and unimers (Fig.l). 

The Winsor II microemulsion is the configuration that has attracted most attention in solvent extraction from aqueous feeds, as it does not affect the structure of the aqueous phase the organic extracting phase, on the other hand, is now a W/0 microemulsion instead of a single phase. The main reason for the interest in W/0 microemulsions is that the presence of the aqueous microphase in the extracting phase may enhance the extraction of hydrophilic solutes by solubilizing them in the reverse micellar cores. However, this is not always the case and it seems to vary with the characteristics of the system and the type of solute. Furthermore, in many instances the mechanism of extraction enhancement is not simply solubilization into the reverse micellar cores. Four solubilization sites are possible in a reverse micelle, as illustrated in Fig. 15.6 [19]. An important point is that the term solubilization does not apply only to solute transfer into the reverse micelle cores, but also to insertion into the micellar boundary region called the palisade. The problem faced by researchers is that the exact location of the solute in the microemulsion phase is difficult to determine with most of the available analytical tools, and thus it has to be inferred. 

This model was shown to account for the observed trends of enthalpies, volumes, compressibilities and heat capacities of many types of hydrophobic solutes (hydrocarbons, alcohols and surfactants) In micellar solutions and also for the observed trends for the transfer of hydrophobic solutes to some alcohol-water mixtures. This latter observation supports the view that some alcohol-water mixtures exist as microphases which In many respects resemble micellar systems (11-12). 

We note that earlier research focused on the similarities of defect interaction and their motion in block copolymers and thermotropic nematics or smectics [181, 182], Thermotropic liquid crystals, however, are one-component homogeneous systems and are characterized by a non-conserved orientational order parameter. In contrast, in block copolymers the local concentration difference between two components is essentially conserved. In this respect, the microphase-separated structures in block copolymers are anticipated to have close similarities to lyotropic systems, which are composed of a polar medium (water) and a non-polar medium (surfactant structure). The phases of the lyotropic systems (such as lamella, cylinder, or micellar phases) are determined by the surfactant concentration. Similarly to lyotropic phases, the morphology in block copolymers is ascertained by the volume fraction of the components and their interaction. Therefore, in lyotropic systems and in block copolymers, the dynamics and annihilation of structural defects require a change in the local concentration difference between components as well as a change in the orientational order. Consequently, if single defect transformations could be monitored in real time and space, block copolymers could be considered as suitable model systems for studying transport mechanisms and phase transitions in 2D fluid materials such as membranes [183], lyotropic liquid crystals [184], and microemulsions [185],... 

The intention of this brief survey has been to demonstrate that besides the "classical" aspects of isotropic polymer solutions and the amorphous or partially crystalline state of polymers, a broad variety of anisotropic structures exist, which can be induced by definable primary structures of the macromolecules. Rigid rod-like macromolecules give rise to nematic or smectic organization, while amphiphilic monomer units or amphiphilic and incompatible chain segments cause ordered micellar-like aggregation in solution or bulk. The outstanding features of these systems are determined by their super-molecular structure rather than by the chemistry of the macromolecules. The anisotropic phase structures or ordered incompatible microphases offer new properties and aspects for application. 

If this reaction were to occur only in the aqueous bulk, the film has no role to play, the entire system is pseudohomogeneous, and a true kinetic analysis as outlined earlier is possible. If mass transfer effects are present between the pseudophases, the analysis outlined before for such systems would apply. However, if reaction occurs in the film, two situations can arise (1) reaction occurs only in the micelles present in the film and not in the rest of the film, and (2) reaction occurs in both the micellar and aqueous phases in the film. The analysis of both the situations is very similar to that for microphase action described in Chapter 23. 

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