Sugar-based Surfactants

Physico-chemical properties of sugar-based surfactants, such as alkyl glucosides, alkyl maltosides, sucrose monoalkanoates, and alkanoylglucosides, were reviewed with attention directed primarily to anomeric effects of the head group sugar. Phase behaviors of surfactant solid and surfactant-water 2-component systems for α-anomer of alkyl glucosides differed considerably from that of β-anomer. Chain length effects of the hydrophobic group on phase behavior of alkyl glucoside-water system were studied for β-anomers and a liquid-liquid phase separation region was confirmed to exist for decyl β-glucoside (0.1-17 wt%) but for octyl and nonyl β-glucoside. The growth of micelles of decyl β-glucoside would thus appear to be promoted by increse in surfactant concentration and micellar network structure was noted to form at above 17 wt% solution. The size and shape of micellar aggregates for octyl glucoside, dodecyl maltoside, and octanoylglucoside demonstrated significant anomeric effects.