During the last few years, there has been an extraordinary increase in publications describing the manifold applications of monoolein, one of the most important lipids in the fields of drug delivery, emulsion stabilization and protein crystallization. In this perspective we present a comprehensive review of the phase behavior of this 'magic lipid'. An account of various mesophases formed in the presence of water and a collection of formulae for the calculation of their nano-structural parameters are provided. Effects of chemical and biological molecules including lipids, detergents, salts, sugars, proteins and DNA on the classical behavior are also discussed. Physicochemical triggers such as, temperature, pressure and shearing modulate the phase behavior of monoolein self assemblies that are covered in subsequent sections. Finally the growing applications of monoolein in various fields are also reported.

A systematic study of the dielectric relaxation spectra of aqueous solutions of NaBr, NaI, NaNO(3), NaClO(4), and NaSCN has been made over a wide range of frequencies (0.2 < or = nu/GHz < or = 89) and solute concentrations (0.05 < or = c/M < or = 1.5) at 25 degrees C. The spectra could be adequately described by a single Cole-Cole (CC) process, symmetrically broadened relative to that of pure water. However, similar quality fits were also obtained with a three-Debye-process (3D) model consisting of a small ion-pair contribution at lower frequencies and two solvent relaxations at higher frequencies. Assuming the ions to be solvent separated, the 3D model provided estimates of their association constants and their rate constants for formation and dissociation. The bulk water relaxation times obtained from both models showed almost no dependence on the nature of the anion. Nevertheless, there were subtle differences in the concentration dependences of the relaxation times which correlated with some, but not all, of the anion properties that are believed to be relevant for explaining the anionic Hofmeister series.

A systematic study of the dielectric relaxation spectra of aqueous solutions of LiCl and Li2SO4 has been made at solute concentrations of 0.05 < or = c/M < or = 1.0 and 2.0, respectively, and over a wide range of frequencies (0.2 < or = nu/GHz < or = 89) at 25 degrees C. The spectra were best described by a superposition of four Debye processes, consisting of the two well-known water relaxations at ca. 8 and 0.5 ps and two ion-pair contributions at ca. 200 and 20 ps, corresponding to the presence of double-solvent-separated (2SIP) and solvent-shared (SIP) ion pairs, respectively. Consistent with spectroscopic studies, no contact ion pairs were detected over the studied concentration range. The overall ion association constants K(o)(A) obtained were in good agreement with literature data for both salts. Detailed analysis of the solvent relaxations indicated that Li+ has a significant second solvation sheath although there were differences between the effective hydration numbers obtained from LiCl and Li2SO4, which might arise from competition for the solvent from the anions.

We present herein a study on the adsorption of anionic (SDS), cationic (CTAB), and nonionic (C(12)E(5)) surfactants onto anionic silica nanoparticles. The effects of this adsorption are studied by means of the static structure factor, S(q), and the collective diffusion coefficient, D(c), obtained from small-angle X-ray scattering and dynamic light scattering measurements, respectively. The effective charge on the particles was determined also from classical electrophoresis and electroacoustic sonic-amplitude measurements. The surface tension of the sample was also investigated. Of particular note is the adsorption of SDS onto the silica nanoparticles, which leads to supercharging of the interface. This has interesting repercussions for structures obtained by the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique, because emulsions stabilized with supercharged and hydrophobized silica are perfect candidates for use in a multilayer system.

A systematic study of the dielectric relaxation spectra of aqueous solutions of NaBPh4 and Ph4PCl has been made at solute concentrations of 0.02 < or = c/M < or = 0.82 and 0.20, respectively, and over a wide range of frequencies (0.2 < or = nu/GHz < or = 89) at 25 degrees C. The spectra were best described by a superposition of four Debye processes, consisting of a very small ion-pair contribution with an average relaxation time of about 300 ps, a "slow"-water relaxation at 17 ps, and two bulk-water relaxations at 8 ps and 0.25 ps, respectively. The slow-water process has been assigned to the presence of a sheath of water molecules surrounding BPh4- and Ph4P+, whose structure has been enhanced by its proximity to the bulky hydrophobic phenyl rings. A structure-making effect on the remaining solvent water can also be observed at low concentrations. More importantly, BPh4- and Ph4P+ show almost identical hydration characteristics, which provides indirect support for the use of the tetraphenylphosphonium tetraphenylborate reference electrolyte assumption in deriving single-ion thermodynamic properties.