Properties of aqueous solutions for two binary mixed systems between two kinds of bile salts and nonionic surfactants

The micellar properties of aqueous binary mixed solutions for two systems consisting of sodium cholate (NaC)-octaoxyethylene glycol mono n-decyl ether (C₁₀E₈) and sodium glycocholate (NaGC)-C₁₀E₈ have been studied on the basis of surface tensions, polarity of the micelle interior and the mean aggregation number. Application of two theoretical treatments, based on regular solution and excess thermodynamic quantities for critical micellar concentration (CMC) data from surface tension curves of two mixed systems showed that the mole fraction of each bile salt in the mixed micelles near the CMC is lower than that of the corresponding prepared mole fraction in the mixed solution. The polarity of the interior suggested that the hydrophobicity of intramicelles increased with the increase of the mole fraction of bile salt in the mixed solution and that the mixed micelles become dramatically more hydrophobic at a mole fraction of 0.68 for NaGC−C₁₀E₈ system and 0.75 for NaC−C₁₀E₈ system, respectively. This implies that the micelles become richer in the bile salt molecules and the tendency appears strongly for NaGC−C₁₀E₈ system due to the strong cohesion between the conjugated glycines in the NaGC molecules. The decrease of aggregation number with the increase of the mole fraction of bile salts shows that the micelles approach those of the single system of each bile salt. This supports the previously mentioned facts.