Binding of anionic (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS),
cationic (cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide, CTAB),
and nonionic (TX-100) surfactants to gelatin chains in aqueous buffer
(pH = 7.0) medium has been studied
by dynamic light-scattering technique performed at T = 30
°C. In the surfactant concentration range varying
from 0 to 100 mM, SDS exhibited electrostatic binding to the charged
groups of the polypeptide chain resulting
in considerable reduction in the hydrodynamic radius
(R
h) of gelatin up to the critical association
concentration
(CAC), and at higher concentrations both the SDS micelles and
gelatin−SDS complexes were found to be
coexisting in equilibrium. In the case of CTAB, almost the
opposite was observed: the gelatin chains showed
small increase in size up to the CAC. Beyond this, the
gelatin−CTAB complexes were observed to grow
significantly, and these were found to be in equilibrium with CTAB
micelles. TX-100 exhibited little
hydrophobic binding to gelatin, and no observable change in gelatin
size was observed. The micellar shapes
were found to be near-spherical for SDS and oblate ellipsoidal for CTAB
micelles. Results have been explained
through the necklace-bead model of polymer−surfactant
interactions.