The micellization of dioctanoylphosphatidylcholine at low pH: a laser light scattering study

Laser light scattering measurements have been performed on aqueous solutions of dioctanoylphosphatidylcholine at pH 1.2 in the presence of added electrolyte (0.05–2.0 M KCl) at 25 °C. Static laser light scattering was used to obtain molecular mass and the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the micelles. Aggregation numbers and number of charges per micelle were calculated from static light scattering according to the Anacker and Westwell treatment. The predicted aggregation numbers were in good agreement with those obtained experimentally from the molecular mass. The interaction between micelles was interpreted from diffusion data from dynamic laser light scattering using the Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (DLVO) theory.