Water solubility enhancements of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), viz., naphthalene, anthracene and pyrene, by micellar solutions at 25 degrees C using two series of surfactants, each involving two cationic and one nonionic surfactant in their single as well as equimolar binary and ternary mixed states, were measured and compared. The first series was composed of three surfactants, benzylhexadecyldimethylammonium chloride (C16BzCl), hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (C16Br), and polyoxyethylene(20)mono-n-hexadecyl ether (Brij-58) with a 16-carbon (C16) hydrophobic chain; the second series consisted of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (C12Br), dodecylethyldimethylammonium bromide (C12EBr), and polyoxyethylene(4)mono-n-dodecyl ether (Brij-30) with a 12-carbon (C12) chain. Solubilization capacity has been quantified in terms of the molar solubilization ratio, the micelle-water partition coefficient, the first stepwise association constant between solubilizate monomer and vacant micelle, and the average number of solubilizate molecules per micelle, determined employing spectrophoto-, tensio-, and flourimetric techniques. Cationic surfactants exhibited lesser solubilization capacity than nonionics in each series of surfactants with higher efficiency in the C16 series compared to the C12 series. Increase in hydrophobicity of head groups of cationics by incorporation of ethyl or benzyl groups enhanced their solubilization capacity. The mixing effect of surfactants on mixed micelle formation and solubilization efficiency has been discussed in light of the regular solution approximation (RSA). Cationic-nonionic binary combinations showed better solubilization capacity than pure cationics, nonionics, or cationic-cationic mixtures, which, in general, showed increase with increased hydrophobicity of PAHs. Equimolar cationic-cationic-nonionic ternary surfactant systems showed lower solubilization efficiency than their binary cationic-nonionic counterparts but higher than cationic-cationic ones. In addition, use of RSA has been extended, with fair success, to predict partition coefficients of ternary surfactant systems using data of binary surfactants systems. Mixed surfactants may improve the performance of surfactant-enhanced remediation of soils and sediments by decreasing the applied surfactant level and thus remediation cost.

Mixed surfactants may improve the performance of surfactant-enhanced solubilization of drugs and thus can serve as the tool for increased bioavalaibility, controlled drug release, and targeted delivery. Solubilization of Naproxen by micellar solutions at 25 degrees C using single and mixed surfactant systems was measured and compared. Solubilization capacity determined with spectrophotometry and tensiometry has been quantified in terms of molar solubilization ratio, micelle-water partition coefficient, and locus of solubilization. Cationic surfactants exhibited higher solubilization capacity than nonionics and anionics, the efficiency increasing with chain length. Mixing effect of surfactants on mixed micelle formation and solubilization efficiency has been discussed in light of regular solution approximation (RSA). Equimolar cationic-nonionic surfactant combinations showed better solubilization capacity than pure cationics or nonionics, which, in general, increased with increase in hydrophobic chain length. Equimolar cationic-nonionic-nonionic ternary surfactant systems exhibited intermediate solubilization efficiency between their single and binary counterparts. Use of RSA has been extended, with fair success, to predict the partition coefficient of ternary surfactant systems using data from binary mixtures. The theoretical micelle-water partition coefficients calculated from the geometric mean equation compared well with experimental values. Locus of solubilization of NAP in different micellar solutions was probed by UV-visible spectroscopy.

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