Stability of binary model membranes--prediction of the liposome stability by the Langmuir monolayer study.

In this paper, usefulness of the Langmuir monolayer study is demonstrated for predictions of the stability of liposomes composed of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and cholesterol (Chol). Thermodynamic analysis of the surface pressure (π)-area (A) isotherms of the DPPC/Chol systems was performed, which allowed for concluding on miscibility of the components, their molecular packing, and the interactions between molecules. It was found that the most stable system, in which the strongest interactions between molecules occured, was DPPC/Chol at x(Chol)=0.25. The stability of liposomes of the same composition as that in the Langmuir monolayers was analyzed by determining the size distribution of vesicles and the polydispersity as a function of time. The changes of these parameters confirmed that the system of the greatest stability is that with low Chol content.

Effects of static magnetic field on electrolyte solutions under kinetic condition.

Electrolyte solutions were exposed for different time to weak static magnetic field (MF) generated from a stack of magnets (B = 15 mT) at the flow rate of 1.4 mL/s. The conductivity was measured as a function of time following the application of MF. It was found that the changes in conductivity depend on the kind of electrolyte and the magnetic exposure time and are related to the thermodynamic function of hydration.

Some magnetic field effects on in situ precipitated calcium carbonate.

Magnetic field (MF) (B = 0.4 T) effects were studied on CaCO3 precipitated from Na2CO3 and CaCl2 solutions, which at 30 degrees C were exposed for 30 min to the field. One of the impurity ions Mg2+, Zn2+, Fe2+, SO4(2-), HPO4(2-) at 10(-5) mol l(-1) concentration was also added to CaCl2 or Na2CO3, respectively. The changes of zeta potential, pH and light absorbance (at lambda = 543.2 nm) of the slurry after CaCO3 precipitation were measured on the time. In some experiments changes in the deposited amounts of CaCO3 due to MF treatment were determined on glass plates. MF affected all the parameters measured and the effects depended on the kind of impurity ion present.

Reversible charging of the ice-water interface. II. Estimation of equilibrium parameters.

Equilibrium parameters characterizing the ice-water interface were obtained from electrokinetic and potentiometric data. The dependency of surface potential on pH was measured by the ice electrode. Electrokinetic zeta potentials were measured by electrophoresis. In the interpretation, the 1-pK and 2-pK concepts of the surface complexation model, developed for metal oxides, were used. The equilibrium parameters (constants of surface reactions) were determined. The results were confirmed by numerical simulations. Both 1-pK and 2-pK models fit the experimental data well.

Study of the Leacril Dyeing Process by a Cationic Dye from an Emulsion System.

Adsorption studies of a cationic dye, Rhodamine B, from an emulsion phase on Leacril fabric at different temperatures were conducted. The emulsion phase consisted of n-hexadecane emulsified by isopropyl alcohol (1 M) and stabilized by tannic acid. In the alcohol solution Rhodamine B was dissolved. The kinetics of its adsorption and desorption is discussed. The changes in Leacril surface free energy components in the dyeing process were also determined. The adsorption data show that the presence of an emulsion increases the dye adsorption at room temperature (293 K) and at 313 K, while at 333 K it is smaller than that from Rhodamine solution alone. However, Rhodamine desorbs more when adsorbed from the solution. Surface free energy components differ for the Leacril samples dyed at different temperatures, and the most hydrophobic surface was obtained for the samples dyed at 333 K, where the electron-donor component is the lowest one. In general, the work of water spreading is close to zero, except for the above sample for which it is relatively highly negative. Possible mechanisms of the dye adsorption are discussed. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

Adsorption of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate to Colloidal Titanium Dioxide: An Electrophoretic Fingerprinting Investigation.

The adsorption of sodium dodecyl sulfate to colloidal titanium dioxide was investigated using the electrophoretic fingerprinting approach. An electrophoretic fingerprint is a contour diagram of the observed electrophoretic mobility as a function of the bulk solution pH and plambda, the log of the bulk solution conductivity. Surfactant adsorption was observed to be strong under acidic conditions, as illustrated in the dramatic changes in the electrophoretic fingerprints. Electrokinetic data were compared with adsorption isotherm data obtained by a depletion method and good qualitative agreement was found. The observed pH changes associated with surfactant adsorption suggested ligand exchange as a possible mechanism of adsorption. Electrophoretic fingerprinting was shown to be a powerful means of examining surfactant adsorption to colloidal particles. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

Ice/Water Interface: Zeta Potential, Point of Zero Charge, and Hydrophobicity.

The ice/water interface is a common and important part of many biological, environmental, and technological systems. In contrast to its importance, the system has not been extensively studied and is not well understood. Therefore, in this paper the properties of the H(2)O ice/water and D(2)O ice/water interfaces were investigated. Although the zeta potential vs pH data points were significantly scattered, it was determined that the isoelectric point (iep) of D(2)O ice particles in water at 3.5 degrees C containing 10(-3) M NaCl occurs at about pH 3.0. The negative values of the zeta potential, calculated from the electrophoretic mobility, seem to decrease with decreasing content of NaCl, while the iep shifts to a higher pH. The point of zero charge (pzc) of D(2)O ice and H(2)O ice, determined by changes in pH of 10(-4) M NaCl aqueous solution at 0.5 degrees C after the ice particle addition, was found to be very different from the iep and equal to pH 7.0 +/- 0.5. The shift of the iep with NaCl concentration and the difference in the positions of the iep and pzc on the pH scale point to complex specific adsorption of ions at the interface. Interestingly, similar values of iep and pzc were found for very different systems, such as hydrophilic ice and highly hydrophobic hexadecane droplets in water. A comparison of the zeta potential vs pH curves for hydrophilic ice and hydrophobic materials that do not possess dissociative functional groups at the interface (diamond, air bubbles, bacteria, and hexadecane) indicated that all of them have an iep near pH 3.5. These results indicate that the zeta potential and surface charge data alone cannot be used to delineate the electrochemical properties of a given water/moiety interface because similar electrical properties do not necessary mean a similar structure of the interfacial region. A good example is the aliphatic hydrocarbon/water interface in comparison to the ice/water interface. Although the experiments were carried out with care, both the zeta potential, measured with a precise ZetaPlus meter, and DeltapH values (a measure of surface charge) vs pH were significantly scattered, and the origin of dissemination of the data points was not established. Differently charged ice particles and not fully equilibrium conditions at the ice/water interface may have been responsible for the dissemination of the data. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

Characterization of Fumed Alumina/Silica/Titania in the Gas Phase and in Aqueous Suspension.

Fumed oxide alumina/silica/titania was studied in comparison with fumed alumina, silica, titania, alumina/silica, and titania/silica by means of XRD, (1)H NMR, IR, optical, dielectric relaxation, and photon correlation spectroscopies, electrophoresis, and quantum chemical methods. The explored Al(2)O(3)/SiO(2)/TiO(2) consists of amorphous alumina ( approximately 22 wt%), amorphous silica ( approximately 28 wt%), and crystalline titania ( approximately 50 wt%, with a blend of anatase (88%) and rutile (12%)) and has a wide assortment of Brønsted and Lewis acid sites, which provide a greater acidity than that of individual fumed alumina, silica, or titania and an acidity close to that of fumed alumina/silica or titania/silica. The changes in the Gibbs free energy (DeltaG) of interfacial water in an aqueous suspension of Al(2)O(3)/SiO(2)/TiO(2) are close to the DeltaG values of the dispersions of pure rutile but markedly lower than those of alumina, anatase, or rutile covered by alumina and silica. The zeta potential of Al(2)O(3)/SiO(2)/TiO(2) (pH of the isoelectric point (IEP) equals approximately 3.3) is akin to that of fumed titania (pH(IEP(TiO2)) approximately 6) at pH > 6, but it significantly differs from the zeta of fumed alumina (pH(IEP(Al2O3)) approximately 9.8) at any pH value as well as those of fumed silica, titania/silica, and alumina/silica at pH < 6. The particle size distribution in the diluted aqueous suspensions of Al(2)O(3)/SiO(2)/TiO(2) studied by means of photon correlation spectroscopy depends relatively slightly on pH in contrast to the titania/silica or alumina/silica dispersions. Theoretical calculations of oxide cluster interaction with water show a high probability of hydrolysis of Al-O-Ti and Si-O-Ti bonds strained at the interface of alumina/titania or silica/titania due to structural differences in the lattices of the corresponding individual oxides. Ab initio calculated chemical shift delta(H) values of H atoms in different hydroxyl groups at the oxide clusters and in bound water molecules are in agreement with the (1)H NMR data and show a significant impact of charged particles (H(3)O(+) or OH(-)) on the average delta(H) values of water droplets with (H(2)O)(n) at n between 2 and 48. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

Deposition of Colloidal Zinc Sulfide on Glass Substrate.

The effect of colloidal forces involved in the deposition of spherical zinc sulfide colloidal particles on a packed bed of glass has been studied. Experiments were performed by pumping a suspension of monodisperse colloidal ZnS particles through a cylindrical plug of ground glass, and by continuous determination of the outgoing suspension concentration. The flux density of adhered particles, jexp (number of particles deposited per unit time and unit surface area of glass collector), decreased with both pH and ionic strength of the aqueous electrolyte solution. Qualitative explanation of the experiments has been given in terms of the total energy of interaction between the dispersed particles and the substrate, and between the particles themselves, computed from the extended DLVO theory, including acid-base interactions. The contributions to the total free energy of interaction were determined from the zeta potential and surface free energy of ZnS and glass, measured under different experimental conditions. It was found that at pH 4 (below the isoelectric point of ZnS) the efficiency of the deposition of ZnS on glass was maximum. At higher pH values the amount of ZnS deposited on glass clearly decreased. Increasing NaCl concentration at fixed pH (>/=6) decreased the efficiency of the deposition. Adhesion experiments were also performed at pH 4 in the presence of increasing concentrations of CaCl2 or La(NO3)3 in the dispersion medium. In these cases, the rate of adhesion was qualitatively well correlated with the computed ZnS-glass interactions. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

Aqueous Suspensions of Highly Disperse Silica and Germania/Silica.

Highly disperse germania has been synthesized on the surface of fumed silica by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique. Aqueous suspensions both of unmodified fumed silica and of the obtained germania/silica (GS) samples have been studied by electrophoresis, photon correlation spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), and quantum chemical semiempirical AM1-SM1 methods. For suspensions of GS samples, electrophoretic mobility, isoelectric point (IEP), particle size distribution, average effective diameter (Def), and free energy changes (DeltaG) of interfacial water were found to depend nonlinearly on the concentration of germania (CGeO2). At small concentrations, the structure of the synthesized germania is clustered rather than layered. For the last samples, maximum reduction of the free energy for interfacial water and larger values of IEP and Def in comparison with GS at high CGeO2 or unmodified silica have been observed. In suspensions, the particle size distributions for silica and GS are uni-, bi-, and trimodal and depend on pH and CGeO2. Values of polydispersity (P) are very rarely smaller than 0.05 and are usually between 0.25 and 0.70, which points to the wide size distribution. The solvation energy of the charged and uncharged GS clusters calculated by AM1-SM1 method decreases with increasing germania concentration. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.