Langmuir, Vol.15, No.22, 7510-7519, 1999
Structure and molecular fluctuations of n-alkyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside micelles determined by X-ray and neutron scattering
The structure of micelles of n-alkyl-beta-D-glucopyranosides in aqueous solution have been determined as a function of alkyl chain length and isotopic composition of the solvent, using a combination of X-ray and neutron scattering techniques. The combined use of X-ray and neutron scattering over an extended q-range has led to an enhanced resolution of micelle structure. Numerical modeling of both X-ray and neutron scattering data found that n-alkyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside micelle shape could be best fit with a cylindrical core-shell form factor, with dimensions dependent upon the surfactant concentration and alkyl chain length. While the micelle core diameter was found to increase proportionately with changes in the alkyl chain length, significantly larger changes were found for the micelle length. The drastic increases in micelle length with increasing surfactant chain length is interpreted to reflect imperfect packing of the surfactant in the cap regions and solvent exposure of the alkyl chains. X-ray scattering intensity was found to decay more slowly as a function of q than could be explained by a simple core-shell structure. The anomalous decay of scattered intensity at high q was fit by modeling fluctuations in the position of surfactant molecules within the equilibrium core-shell structure, in a manner analogous to the use of a Debye-Waller temperature factor in crystallographic data analysis. This analysis suggests that wide-angle scattering data is sensitive to the dynamics of macromolecular assemblies, and that large temperature factors are a distinguishing, characteristic feature of n-alkyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside micelles rarely seen in other micelle systems.
Keywords:PHYSICAL-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES;CROSS-SECTION STRUCTURE;POLYMER-LIKE MICELLES;MEMBRANE-PROTEINS;SELF-DIFFUSION;PHASE-DIAGRAM;ANGLE;CRYSTALLIZATION;WATER;MICELLIZATION