Reverse micelle model system

It is sometimes argued that the reverse micelle terminology is an inappropriate comparison to aqueous micelles. Since water can be solubilized by these micelles, causing an increase in n, the reverse micelle model and vocabulary do seem useful for ternary systems. 

Dodecylpyridinium iodide-reversed micelles trapping chlorophyll a have been suggested as interesting photochemical model systems [22] and water/AOT/chloroethylene systems as peculiar dry-cleaning solvents [64]. 

In addition to solubilization, entrapment of polymers inside reversed micelles can be achieved by performing in situ suitable polymerization reactions. This methodology has some specific peculiarities, such as easy control of the polymerization degree and synthesis of a distinct variety of polymeric structures. The size and shape of polymers could be modulated by the appropriate selection of the reversed micellar system and of synthesis conditions [31,191]. This kind of control of polymerization could model and/or mimic some aspects of that occurring in biological systems. 

Reactivities of pentacyanoferrates(II) in micelles and reversed micelles have been studied. The hexadecyltrimethylammonium cation causes a modest increase in rate constant for the anion-anion reaction [Fe(CN)5(4-CNpy)] + CN. This can equally well be interpreted according to the pseudophase model developed from the Olson-Simonson treatment of kinetics in micellar systems or by the classical Bronsted equation. 

Zampieri, G. G., Jackie, H., and Luisi, P. L. (1986). Determination of the structural parameters of reverse micelles after uptake of proteins. J. Phys. Chem., 90, 1849. Zeleny, M. (1977). Self-organization of living systems formal model of autopoiesis. Int. J. Gen. Sysl, 4, 13-28. 

Another striking difference between aqueous and anhydrous, nonaqueous systems is the size of the aggregates that are first formed. As we have seen, n is about 50 or larger for aqueous micelles, while for many reverse micelles n is about 10 or smaller. A corollary of the small size of nonaqueous micelles and closely related to the matter of size is the blurring of the CMC and the breakdown of the phase model for micellization. Instead, the stepwise buildup of small clusters as suggested by Reaction (D) is probably a better way of describing micellization in anhydrous systems. When the clusters are extremely small, the whole picture of a polar core shielded from a nonaqueous medium by a mantle of tail groups breaks down. 

The lipidic cubic phase has recently been demonstrated as a new system in which to crystallize membrane proteins [143, 144], and several examples [143, 145, 146] have been reported. The molecular mechanism for such crystallization is not yet clear, but the interfacial water and transport are believed to play an important role in nucleation and crystal growth [146, 147], Using a related model system of reverse micelles, drastic differences in water behavior were observed both experimentally [112, 127, 128, 133-135] and theoretically [117, 148, 149]. In contrast to the ultrafast motions of bulk water that occurs in less than several picoseconds, significantly slower water dynamics were observed in hundreds of picoseconds, which indicates a well-ordered water structure in these confinements. 

The rapid development of biotechnology during the 1980s provided new opportunities for the application of reaction engineering principles. In biochemical systems, reactions are catalyzed by enzymes. These biocatalysts may be dispersed in an aqueous phase or in a reverse micelle, supported on a polymeric carrier, or contained within whole cells. The reactors used are most often stirred tanks, bubble columns, or hollow fibers. If the kinetics for the enzymatic process is known, then the effects of reaction conditions and mass transfer phenomena can be analyzed quite successfully using classical reactor models. Where living cells are present, the growth of the cell mass as well as the kinetics of the desired reaction must be modeled [16, 17]. 

Recently, the investigations of nitrobenzisoxazoles mainly 6-nitrobenzisoxazole-3-carboxilate ions have received considerable interest due to their participation in reverse micellar systems [679-682], Reverse micelles are of considerable interest as reaction media because they are powerful models for biological compartmental-ization, enzymatic catalysis, and separation of biomolecules. Solutions of ionic surfactants in apolar media may contain reverse micelles, but they may also contain ion pairs or small clusters with water of hydration [679], Molecular design of nonlinear optical organic materials based on 6-nitrobenzoxazole chromophores has been developed [451],... 

The surfactant AOT forms reverse micelles in non-polar fluids without addition of a cosurfactant, and thus it is possible to study simple, water/AOT/oil, three component systems. To determine micelle structure and behavior in water/AOT/oil systems, investigators have studied a wide range of properties including conductivity (15), light (JL ), and neutron (12) scattering, as well as solution phase behavior (1 ). From information of this type one can begin to build both microscopic models and thermodynamic... 

Novel aspects of protein extraction with reversed-micelles include both fundamental studies and process design studies/approaches. Fundamental studies are essential in order to design a reversed-micelles based extraction process in a rational manner. Such theoretical programs have been initiated and are providing a better understanding of the partitioning and transport phenomena in such systems (31). In this book, Jolivalt tal. (32) review the modeling aspects and the applications of reversed micelles for protein separations. 

However, these experimental approaches appeared to be relevant enough to form the basis of the first thermodynamic treatment of the solubilization of protein in reversed micelles developed by Caselli et. (58). The micellar phase before solubilization forms the reference state of thermodynamic calculations. According to the structural model of spherical monodisperse droplets, the knowledge of the micelle radius and density completely characterizes the system. The uptake of protein is made... 

A significant amount of work has demonstrated the feasibility and the interest of reversed micelles for the separation of proteins and for the enhancement or inhibition of specific reactions. The number of micellar systems presently available and studied in the presence of proteins is still limited. An effort should be made to increase the number of surfactants used as well as the set of proteins assayed and to characterize the molecular mechanism of solubilization and the microstructure of the laden organic phases in various systems, since they determine the efficiency and selectivity of the separation and are essential to understand the phenomena of bio-activity loss or preservation. As the features of extraction depend on many parameters, particular attention should be paid to controlling all of them in each phase. Simplified thermodynamic models begin to be developed for the representation of partition of simple ions and proteins between aqueous and micellar phases. Relevant experiments and more complete data sets on distribution of salts, cosurfactants, should promote further developments in modelling in relation with current investigations on electrolytes, polymers and proteins. This work could be connected with distribution studies achieved in related areas as microemulsions for oil recovery or supercritical extraction (74). In addition, the contribution of physico-chemical experiments should be taken into account to evaluate the size and structure of the micelles. 

Aggregation of surfactants in apolar solvents, e.g., aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbons, occurs provided that small amounts of water are present [1,126,127], These aggregates are often called reverse micelles, although the solutions do not always appear to have a critical micelle concentration, and surfactant association is often governed by a multiple equilibrium, mass action, model vith a large spread of aggregate sizes [130,131], It has recently been suggested that the existence of a monomer f -mer equilibrium should be used as a criterion of micellization, and that this term should not be applied to self-associated systems which involve multiple equilibria [132],... 

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