The formation of wormlike micelles in aqueous solutions of an amino acid‐based surfactant, sodium lauroyl sarcosinate (LS) and a zwitterionic surfactant, cocamidopropyl betaine (CAPB) has been investigated. Holding the total concentration of LS and CAPB constant at 12 wt%, the synergistic effects of mass ratio of CAPB and LS and pH of the micelle solution on rheological behaviors of CAPB/LS micelles were studied. The viscosity of CAPB/LS micelle systems with a mass ratio from 4:8 to 9:3 increases to maximum values and then decreases as pH increases from 4.0 to 5.6. The maximum viscosity of the transparent CAPB/LS micelle solution is nearly 5500 mPa·s with a mass ratio of CAPB/LS = 8:4 at pH 5.10. It is suggested that the proper pH for CAPB and LS to form wormlike micelles should be close to the isoelectric point of the CAPB/LS solution. The results of thixotropy measurements show that the appropriate mass ratio of CAPB/LS can improve the stability of the network structure of wormlike micelles. In addition, viscosity curves of CAPB/LS wormlike micelles follow a nonlinear co‐rotational Jeffreys model, and the linear viscoelasticity of CAPB/LS wormlike micelles can be described by a linear viscoelastic Jeffreys model. The network of wormlike micelles is confirmed by Cryo‐TEM images.

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Oil-in-water nanoemulsions are finding increasing use as delivery systems to encapsulate lipophilic bioactive components in personal care and pharmaceutical. The aim of this study was to optimize the composition and stability of ceramide-2 nanoemulsions. The nanoemulsions were prepared by high pressure homogenizer emulsification method using sodium dilauramidoglutamide lysine (DLGL) as surfactant. Results showed that the oil type and concentration had an appreciable impact on the particle size and stability of the ceramide-2 enriched nanoemulsions. The presence of the aliphatic alcohol altered the curvature of the surfactant molecular and increased the stability of nanoemulsions. The zeta potential of nanoemulsions decreased with the addition of Cetyl trimethyl ammonium Chloride (1631), which weakens the electrostatic interactions between droplets and lowers the stability of the nanoemulsions. The particle size decreased with increasing concentrations of both sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and Cocoamidopropyl Betaine (CAB). The variation of zeta potential with SDS and CAB was insignificant, which was attributed to the high zeta potential value resulted from anionic gemini surfactant DLGL. Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 22:58 26 August 2015 2The instability mechanism of nanoemulsions was the Ostwald ripening. This study demonstrated that the addition of aliphatic alcohol, SDS or CAB was beneficial to the stability of ceramide-2 nanoemulsions and decreased the Ostwald ripening rate.

This paper investigated the rheological properties of novel viscoelastic thickening micelle system formed by surfactin and cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB). The total concentration of surfactin and CTAB was maintained at 12 wt%. The rheological behavior of the surfactin/CTAB synergistic micelles with different mass ratio and pH was systematically investigated. For the surfactin/CTAB micellar system with a mass ratio varied from 1/11 to 4/8, the viscosity of the micelles rose to a maximum with increasing pH, and then decreased with a further increase of pH. When the mass ratio was surfactin: CTAB = 2.5:9.5 (pH 5.72), the maximum viscosity of the micelle solution reached 8170 mPa. s. Meanwhile, the viscosity curve of the surfactin/CTAB systems was described by the nonlinear co-rotational Jeffreys model. This work sets a rheological foundation for the application of surfactin/CTAB systems. The thixotropic loop area of the micelles was basically zero. Through viscoelasticity measurements, the results demonstrated that the appropriate surfactin/CTAB mass ratio would favor the stability of the network structure of the synergistic thickening system. The value of G 00 (viscous modulus) is always higher than the value of G 0 (elastic modulus).

A novel peptide-based gemini surfactant, namely, sodium dilauramidoglutamide lysine (DLGL) was employed to fabricate a stable nanoemulsion system for the delivery of hydrophobic bioactive ceramide-2 molecules. The phase properties and morphology and stability of the nanoemulsion were investigated by focusing on the interaction between DLGL and ceramide-2 molecules. The investigation of the phase properties of the mixture of DLGL and ceramide-2 by X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed remarkable reduction in the crystallinity of ceramide-2 due to the presence of DLGL. The spherical shape and nanometer size of nanoemulsions emulsified by DLGL were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The nanoemulsions prepared using DLGL exhibited significant improvement in the dispersion stability without any significant changes in the particle sizes even after storing them for a month at 50°C. The results indicated that DLGL readily associated with ceramide-2 to form a relatively stable structure. The steric hindrance of DLGL and molecular rearrangement of DLGL and ceramide-2 attributed to a break in the continuity of the molecular assembly of ceramide-2, which hampered its crystallinity.