Colloidal and biological properties of cationic single-chain and dimeric surfactants

The colloidal and biological properties of the two single-chain surfactants N-benzyl-N,N-dimethyl-N-(1-dodecyl)ammonium bromide (PH12) and N-cyclohexylmethyl-N,N-dimethyl-N-(1-dodecyl)ammonium bromide (CH12) and their two dimeric counterparts N,N’-(1,3-phenylenebis(methylene))bis(N,N-dimethyl-N-(1-dodecyl)ammonium dibromide (12PH12) and N,N’-(cyclohexane-1,3-diylbis(methylene))bis(N,N-dimethyl-N-(1-dodecyl)ammonium dibromide (12CH12) were investigated. The thermodynamic functions of the self-aggregation process were estimated by using calorimetric measurements and the micellization enthalpy values, ΔHM, were examined considering the different enthalpic contributions to ΔHM. In the investigation of the structure-property relationship, it was found that the surfactant structure does not influence practically the foamability of the surfactants, but it plays a key role in their solubilization capacity, antimicrobial activity and biodegradability.