Phase Behavior of the Phytantriol/Water System

Abstract

Phytantriol, 3,7,11,15-tetramethyl-1,2,3-hexadecanetriol, is frequiently used as a cosmetic ingredient; however, very little is known about its physical and chemical properties. Here, we present the phase behavior of phytantriol in water, as determined by X-ray diffraction. At room temperature, the phase sequence upon increasing the water concentration is reversed micellar, lamellar, cubic phase Q230, and cubic phase Q224. At 44 °C, the cubic liquid crystals are transformed into a reversed hexagonal phase. The temperature−composition phase diagram of phytantriol/water mixtures is, thus, qualitatively similar to that of aqueous glycerol monooleate. The chemical stability of phytantriol makes it an interesting alternative to glycerol monooleate in exploiting various scientific and technical applications of, in particular, the cubic liquid crystalline phases.

Alkylation of Spiropyran Moiety Provides Reversible Photo-Control over Nanostructured Soft Materials

“…The lattice parameter for the H 2 phase (48-49 Å , Fig. 3b) is consistent with previous reports for the H 2 phase in phytantriol-water systems [10,26,27]. In order to exert the greatest effect on lipid packing, the photochromic molecules should align themselves in the lipid bilayer near the hydrophilic headgroups of the amphiphiles.…”

“…Briefly, the photochromics, SP, SPL and SOX were pre-dissolved in phytantriol, and phosphate buffered saline (pH 7.4) was added to the lipid phase in a ratio of 1:1 (w:w) to ensure excess water conditions [10,26,27]. The samples were heated transiently to 70°C to enable vortex mixing three times, and left to equilibrate for 1 week at 25°C before irradiation experiments.…”

A novel route to nanostructured bismuth telluride films by electrodeposition

“…In order to understand the reason for the more disordered 3D nanostructure with coarser nanowire dimensions, we tested the hypothesis that the bismuth telluride deposition solution altered the structure of the phytantriol template by obtaining SAXS patterns from a gold electrode surface coated in phytantriol in the solution prior to deposition. The 1-D radial SAXS pattern shows four distinct very sharp Bragg peaks, at relative positions for 1/d in the ratio √2: √3: √4: √6, representative of the Q II D phase of phytantriol (space group 224 [20]) indicating that the deposition bath did not alter the template cubic phase structure. Preliminary thermoelectric measurements conducted on stoichiometric nanostructured Bi 2 Te 3 films prepared from phytantriol with thicknesses of 2-6 µm yielded a Seebeck coefficient of -88 µV K -1 .…”

Phytantriol-Based In Situ Liquid Crystals with Long-Term Release for Intra-articular Administration

“…In addition, both vehicles demonstrate the ability to protect unstable drugs from enzymatic and physical degradation (13)(14)(15)(16). In the past decade, phytantriol (PT) has been widely used to form V 2 and H 2 (10,17). PT is a well-known active ingredient used in cosmetic industry (18), which has been widely used as a cubic phase-forming material in excess water at physiological temperature (17,19,20).…”

“…In the past decade, phytantriol (PT) has been widely used to form V 2 and H 2 (10,17). PT is a well-known active ingredient used in cosmetic industry (18), which has been widely used as a cubic phase-forming material in excess water at physiological temperature (17,19,20). PT-water system forms the V 2 at physiological temperature, with a transition to H 2 at a higher temperature.…”