LAUSR

AbstractThe water-soluble complexes formed between a set of positively charged linear block copolymers (BCPs) of poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylate (PEGMEA) and [3-(methacryloylamino)propyl]trimethylammonium chloride (MAPTAC) with oppositely charged double-tail surfactant, sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT), and biosurfactants (bile salts) containing hydrophilic steroid structure were studied using turbidimetric titration, steady-state pyrene fluorescence study, zeta-potential measurement, dynamic light scattering, and electron microscopy. These complexes do not precipitate in the entire range of compositions of the mixtures including stoichiometric compositions establishing their water solubility and potential usefulness. These BCPs were found to form water-soluble vesicles when mixed with a stoichiometric quantity of AOT and micelle-like loosely bound aggregates when mixed with bile salts at room temperature. The differential complex formation of the surfactants was due to the structural differences between bile salts and AOT. Graphical abstractᅟ