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    Cationic Gemini Surfactant-Plasmid Deoxyribonucleic Acid Condensates as a Single Amphiphilic Entity

    Year: 2018

    Journal: J. Phys. Chem. B, Volume 122, JAN 11, page 194–199

    Authors: Shortall, Samantha M.; Wettig, Shawn D.

    Organizations: Canadian Foundation for Innovations (CFI); Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program (OGS); University of Waterloo; Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC Discovery Grant) [335626-2011]

    A critical aggregate concentration for the surfactant-DNA "complex" or "condensate" consisting of the 16-3-16 gemini surfactant and circular plasmid DNA was determined using surface tensiometry, dynamic light scattering, and conductometry. This surfactant-DNA complex acts as an amphiphile itself, for example, decreasing the surface tension of water until a critical concentration is reached. The evidence presented here introduces a new way of considering these surfactant-DNA condensates, not simply as aggregates in solution but as surface-active agents in their own right. At concentrations below the critical aggregate concentration, there is some dissociation of surfactant molecules from the condensate, creating a more "loose" or "relaxed" complex; however, at and above the critical aggregate concentration, the surfactant-DNA system forms smaller and more uniformly distributed condensates once again. This behavior is analogous to demicellization/micellization that occurs in typical surfactant systems.
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