ABSTRACT
Phenomenon of OH− Binding ....................................................... 282 8.4 Effects of Structural Variations on the pH-Dependent Aggregation
Behavior of Sugar-Based Gemini Surfactants ......................................... 285 8.4.1 Effects of Variations of the Length and Nature of the Spacer ...... 285 8.4.2 Effect of Variations of the Sugar Moieties ................................... 290
8.4.2.1 Effect of the Number of Hydroxyl Groups in the Headgroup............................................................ 290
8.4.2.2 Aggregation Properties of Sugar-Based Gemini Surfactants Analogues: Implications for the Mechanism of OH− Binding .......................................... 292
8.5 Effects of Double-Tailed Phospholipids and Single-Tailed Surfactants on the pH-Dependent Aggregation Behavior of Sugar-Based Gemini Surfactants ......................................................... 295 8.5.1 Effects of Double-Tailed Phospholipid Additives ......................... 295 8.5.2 Effects of Single-Tailed Surfactant Additives .............................. 298
8.6 Effects of Physiological Ionic Strength Conditions on the pHDependent Aggregation Behavior of Sugar-Based Gemini Surfactants .................................................................................. 300
8.7 Sugar-Based Gemini Surfactants as Gene Delivery Vehicles .................. 301 8.7.1 Morphology of the Lipoplexes ...................................................... 302
8.8 Conclusions .............................................................................................. 306 References ......................................................................................................... 306
Amphiphilic molecules possess parts, which are distinctively lipophilic and hydrophilic. This ambivalence lies at the basis of the intriguing properties of these molecules, selected by nature as the building-blocks of architectures essential for life (i.e., biological membranes), and chosen by scientists for several applications in elds as diverse as food industry, cleaning technologies, agrochemicals, and bio-medicine [1].
