Effect of protein incorporation on the nanostructure of the bicontinuous microemulsion phase of Winsor-III systems: a small-angle neutron scattering study.

Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) analysis using the Teubner-Strey model has been employed to evaluate the effect of protein incorporation into the middle, bicontinuous microemulsion (BµE) phase of Winsor-III (WIII) systems formed by an aerosol-OT (AOT)/alkyl ethoxylate mixed surfactant system to understand better the extraction of proteins into and out of BµEs and to study the effect of proteins on a system that serves as a biomimetic analog of cell membranes. Under conditions of high salinity, the incorporation of positively charged proteins cytochrome c, lysozyme, and α-chymotrypsin, near their solubilization limit in the BµEs promoted the release of water and oil from the BµEs, a decrease in the quasi-periodic repeat distance (d), an increase in ordering (a decrease in the amphiphilicity factor, fa) for the surfactant monolayers, and a decrease in the surface area per surfactant headgroup, suggesting that the proteins affected the self-assembly of components in the BµE phase and produced Debye shielding of AOT's sulfonate headgroup. For WIII systems possessing lower salinity, cytochrome c reduced the efficiency of surfactant in the BµE phase, noted by increases in d and fa, suggesting that the enzyme and AOT underwent ion pairing. The results of this study demonstrate the importance of ionic strength to modulate protein-surfactant interactions, which in turn will control the release of proteins encapsulated in the BµEs, relevant to WIII-based protein extraction and controlled release from BµE delivery systems, and demonstrate the utility of BµEs as a model system to understand the effect of proteins on biomembranes.

Protein extraction by Winsor-III microemulsion systems.

Proteins (bovine serum albumin (BSA), α-chymotrypsin, cytochrome c, and lysozyme) were extracted from 0.5 to 2.0 g L(-1) aqueous solution by adding an equal volume of isooctane solution that contained a surfactant mixture (Aerosol-OT, or AOT, and a 1,3-dioxolane (or cyclic ketal) alkyl ethoxylate, CK-2,13-E5.6), producing a three-phase (Winsor-III) microemulsion with a middle, bicontinuous microemulsion, phase highly concentrated in protein (5-13 g L(-1)) and small in volume (12-20% of entire volume). Greater than 90% forward extraction was achieved within a few minutes. Robust W-III microemulsion systems were formulated at 40°C, or at 25°C by including a surfactant with shorter ethoxylate length, CK-2,13-E3 , or 1.5% NaCl (aq). Successful forward extraction correlated with high partitioning of AOT in the middle phase (>95%). The driving force for forward extraction was mainly electrostatic attractions imposed by the anionic surfactant AOT, with the exception of BSA at high ionic strength, which interacted via hydrophobic interactions. Through use of aqueous stripping solutions of high ionic strength (5.0 wt %) and/or pH 12.0 (to negate the electrostatic attractive driving force), cytochrome c and α-chymotrypsin were back extracted from the middle phase at >75% by mass, with the specific activity of recovered α-chymotrypsin being >90% of its original value.

Partitioning behavior of an acid-cleavable, 1,3-dioxolane alkyl ethoxylate, surfactant in single and binary surfactant mixtures for 2- and 3-phase microemulsion systems according to ethoxylate head group size.

Partition coefficients for a pH-degradable 1,3-dioxolane alkyl ethoxylate surfactant, 4-CH(3)O (CH(2)CH(2)O)(5.6)-CH(2), 2,2-(CH(2))(12)CH(3), 2-(CH(2)) CH(3), 1,3-dioxolane or "cyclic ketal" surfactant, CK-2,13-E(5.6,ave), between isooctane- and water-rich phases of 2- and 3-phase microemulsion systems (K(n)) were determined as functions of the ethoxylate size, n, and temperature for the neat surfactant and its binary surfactant mixtures, to understand the partitioning of alkyl ethoxylates possessing a broad distribution of ethoxylate size and to determine conditions required for formation of 3-phase microemulsion systems at an optimal temperature where phase separation occurs rapidly, important for protein purification via proteins' selective partitioning to the middle phase, driven by affinity to the second surfactant of the binary mixture. A semi-empirical thermodynamic mathematical model described the partitioning data well, provided optimal temperature values consistent with phase diagrams and theory, and demonstrated that the tail region of CK-2,13-E(5.6,ave) is more polar than the hydrophobes of fatty alcohol ethoxylates. The addition of Aerosol-OT (AOT) removed the temperature sensitivity of CK-2,13-E(5.6,ave)s partitioning, producing 3-phase microemulsion systems between 20 °C and 40 °C. Analysis of the bottom phases of the 2- and 3-phase microemulsion systems formed by CK-2,13-E(5.6,ave) via small-angle neutron scattering demonstrated the presence of spherical, monodisperse oil-in-water microemulsions.