In this study, the interaction of the anion of quinapril (QUIN), angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, with cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) was investigated. The effect of cationic micelles on the spectroscopic and acid-base properties of QUIN was studied at pH 8. The binding of QUIN anion to CTAB micelles implied a shift in drug acidity constant (pK(a)(water) - pK(a)(micelle) = 1.39) proving the great affinity of negatively charged QUIN ion for the positively charged CTAB micelle surface. The strong dependence of the partition coefficient K-x on QUIN concentration, obtained by using pseudo-phase model, is consistent with an adsorption-like phenomenon. From the dependence of differential absorbance at lambda = 272 nm on CTAB concentration, by using mathematical model that treats the solubilization of QUIN anion as its binding to specific sites in the micelles (Langmuir adsorption isotherm), the binding constant K-b = (2.3 +/- 0.4) x 10(3) mol(-1) dm(3) was obtained. QUIN-CTAB binding constant was also calculated from micellar liquid chromatography (MLC) and this method was found to be not accurate enough for its determination. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.