Photosensitive surfactants: Micellization and interaction with DNA

Abstract

Recently, photosensitive surfactants have re-attracted considerable attention. It has been shown that their association with oppositely charged biologically important polyelectrolytes, such as DNA or microgels, can be efficiently manipulated simply by light exposure. In this article, we investigate the self-assembly of photosensitive surfactants as well as their interactions with DNA by calorimetric and spectroscopic methods. Critical micelle concentration (CMC), standard micellization enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs energy were determined in different conditions (ionic strengths and temperatures) for a series of cationic surfactants with an azobenzene group in their tail. It is shown, that aggregation forces of photosensitive units play an important role in the micellization giving the major contribution to the micellization enthalpy. The onset of the aggregation can be traced from shift of the absorption peak position in the UV-visible spectrum. Titration UV-visible spectroscopy is used as an alternative, simple, and sensitive approach to estimate CMC. The titration UV-visible spectroscopy was also employed to investigate interactions (CAC: critical aggregation concentration, precipitation, and colloidal stabilization) in the DNA-surfactant complex.