Unravelling the self-assembly of a novel cationic pseudo-gemini surfactant and its monomeric counterpart: interactions with DNA and BSA in aqueous medium at neutral pH.
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
The demand for sustainable, efficient, and easily tunable cationic surfactants is growing rapidly due to their pivotal role in gene therapy, drug delivery, and biotechnology. However, conventional gemini surfactants often require laborious synthesis and lack design flexibility. Here, we introduce a novel pseudo-gemini surfactant system, innovatively constructed through simple non-covalent electrostatic interactions between a hydrophobic tertiary amine and a dibasic acid. This minimalist design approach bypasses traditional synthetic complexity, offering a rapid, modular pathway to functional surfactants. Our findings demonstrate that this new surfactant not only self-assembles into thermodynamically stable structures but also exhibits superior binding affinity to key biomacromolecules like DNA and BSA, as validated by spectroscopy and docking studies. The strong and specific interactions underscore its potential for high-impact applications in biomedicine. This work redefines the design paradigm for cationic surfactants and addresses an urgent need for accessible yet high-performance agents in therapeutic and industrial settings.
期刊介绍:
Soft Matter is an international journal published by the Royal Society of Chemistry using Engineering-Materials Science: A Synthesis as its research focus. It publishes original research articles, review articles, and synthesis articles related to this field, reporting the latest discoveries in the relevant theoretical, practical, and applied disciplines in a timely manner, and aims to promote the rapid exchange of scientific information in this subject area. The journal is an open access journal. The journal is an open access journal and has not been placed on the alert list in the last three years.